Discovery
“My story’s a lot like yours, only more interesting because it involves robots.”
-Bender, Futurama
***
It came steadily from the darkened forest and down a deserted road, its metal hull gleaming under a bright sun. The metallic sound of its hooves hitting the stones in the dirt path was accompanied by the mechanical whirring of gears and a steady electric hum. It moved onward to its destination with precision, completely undistracted by sights or sounds. Birds and wild animals fled as soon as they saw this alien creature. It slowed only for a moment as it came to a bend in the road and saw a trail leading off the dirt road and through a gathering of trees. It was not a natural forest; these were all apple trees. An orchard.
Far in the distance, over the trees and the nearby hamlet, it saw a glimmer of light shining like a beacon from the crest of the distant castle. It tilted its head a moment, then looked at the path it was on and then turned and stared out over the orchard with unblinking violet eyes.
“Faster route determined,” it uttered to itself in a synthetic, echoing voice. “Proceeding to Ponyville.” The thing left the sunny road and entered the orchard, its gray metallic exterior almost blending in amid the thick shadows.
Soon, it would arrive.
***
“Today is the day, Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom declared, raising a hoof as she stood at the podium in their little clubhouse. “We’re gonna keep workin’ until we get our cutie marks in…” she paused for dramatic effect “...sculpture!”
“I’ve got a good feeling about this one!” Sweetie Belle chirped, rearing up and kicking her legs enthusiastically. “And I brought all the stuff we need for it!”
Scootaloo inspected each stack of materials, peering at them closely, squinting at each one as she circled it. “Wood, clay… wait, what’s with the rolled up wire stuff and the old copies of the Foal Free Press?”
“That’s chicken wire!”
Scootaloo was silent, narrowing her eyes as if anticipating some unwelcome, overused joke.
“It’s for paper mache!” Sweetie Belle explained.
“Oh! Then yeah, great!”
Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at that last bit. “Paper? We couldn’t get one of those big ol’ rocks you always see artistic types workin’ with?”
Sweetie Belle sighed. “I asked the stallion at the quarry. He said a block of granite or marble was going to cost more than three fillies could afford on our allowances.”
“Well, that’s fine anyway,” Scootaloo said, lifting one of the papers with her hoof. “I think some of these old papers still have our ‘Gabby Gums’ columns in it. Probably good to make use of those even if we don’t get a cutie mark.”
The three young friends were in their clubhouse and were further behind schedule than they’d expected. It was getting fairly late in the afternoon to just begin their latest attempt at discovering their special talents and none of them even glanced out the window to notice the storm clouds being placed overhead by the weather team pegasi.
But the three were too engrossed in their little quest and their attempts to make some sort of statue or bust left them so busy that they didn’t even notice as the rain began to fall and the sun began to set. The hours slipped by and the darkness set in.
“Hey! Help me out, my hoof is stuck in this here clay!” Applebloom cried, angrily shaking the lump of clay she'd embedded her hoof into.
“It ish?” Scootaloo turned as she held the hammer in her mouth, momentarily stopping her chiseling on the block of wood to turn to Apple Bloom. In doing so, she dropped the hammer on one hoof. Shouting in momentary surprise and pain, she fell backward, knocking the unfinished sculpture over, chipping a chunk of the wood off entirely.
“Scootaloo, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a pony knock their own block off,” Sweetie Belle said dryly.
“Oh ha ha,” Scootaloo grumbled, giving her a roll of her eyes as she crossed her forelegs. Then she brightened, seeing Sweetie Belle's sculpture. “Hey, that’s actually pretty good, Sweetie Belle!”
Sweetie Belle looked at her unfinished sculpture. “You think?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. The sculpture was slowly taking on the shape of a unicorn’s head, although the mane was only just being formed around the wire structure.
“Hey, yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed. “Is that supposed to be your sister?”
“Uh huh! I thought Rarity might like it!" She smiled, clapping her hooves together with anticipation. "I mean, I need to finish and maybe paint it, but… wait, what’s that sound?”
They froze and only now heard the hard rain splattering on the clubhouse window and loudly onto the rooftop. And then they looked up and saw a distinct drop of water forming in the roughly-constructed ceiling. And then that drop fell right onto Sweetie’s paper mache sculpture.
“Oh no," Sweetie gasped, eyes going wide as she ran for her sculpture, "I better move that before--”
The wooden ceiling suddenly gave and a large cascade of water came down, practically melting the sculpture before her eyes.
“My sculpture!” Sweetie cried, throwing her head back dramatically as she saw her hard work dissolve before her.
“Ah dang it, I can’t believe we forgot about the rainstorm today!” Apple Bloom shouted, stamping her hoof.
“It’s not just a rainstorm,” Scootaloo said quietly, her own eyes widening as she recalled the most important detail: “Earlier, I heard Rainbow Dash saying it’s gonna be--”
KABOOM!
“--a th-thunderstorm,” she finished. The three fillies huddled together, cowering at the peal of thunder.
“We better get back to my house before it gets worse!" Applebloom said, drawing herself up in determination. "Who knows if this old clubhouse can take a huge thunderstorm! Not to mention Applejack will be sore if we’re out any later!”
The three of them abandoned their sculptures and ran out into the storm, blinking into the fat, stinging rain that pelted them. The wind and rain were already strong and growing stronger and the sky began to flash and light up as lightning began to strike all across Ponyville. The booming, rumbling thunder rolled over the orchard as they ran, but they counted themselves lucky that the lightning didn’t seem close.
“Just a little more!” Apple Bloom called over her shoulder, grimacing as the rain drenched her.
And then with a deafening, explosive bang, a bolt of lightning came down no more than a hundred meters away, turning the darkened land momentarily bright as midday. The sound may as well have been the sky itself shattering and they all screamed, clutching each other as their ears rang.
“That was too close!” Scootaloo yelled.
“Wait a minute, did it hit one of the trees?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I see smoke!”
“And I think I smell somethin’ burnin’ too,” Apple Bloom said. They peered through the nearby trees but then they heard a strange sound as something came closer.
In a cloud of smoke, still searing hot from being struck by lightning, a strange thing emerged. It was the same size and shape as a pony, only…
“Is that thing covered in... metal?” Scootaloo whispered.
“It sure looks like it,” Apple Bloom said. The thing really was covered head to hoof with metal plates. Even the hooves seemed to be covered in metal. The constant sound of rain clattering on it, hissing into steam when it struck the hot metal became louder as it approached.
“Maybe it’s one of the Royal Guard?" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Is that why it’s wearing all that armor?” Sweetie Belle’s suggestion made sense, but it didn’t look like any armor any of them had ever seen. And that’s when they saw it staring at them, and they got a good look at its eyes.
They were glowing. Actually, they were flickering erratically, but the point was their appearance: bright purple with no pupils. They resembled a pair of flashlights more than any normal pair of eyes. The girls recoiled with fear at the sight as the stranger approached them, but then Apple Bloom’s sense of responsibility took over. She broke from the group and galloped over.
“Uh, e-excuse me, Miss or Mister,” she said, trying to speak up over the rain. “Are you okay? Did ya get struck by lightning? Do ya need any help?”
The thing’s walking was shakier now and they could all hear the loud clanking as it took each wobbly step. But it managed to keep walking as it made some kind of weird, jittering reply: “T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T--”
“What’s that?" Applebloom asked, turning her head and raising an ear. "Can ya speak up?” The pony or whatever it was in the armor had a strange, metallic voice and it somehow didn’t quite sound like somepony speaking inside a suit of armor. It reverberated and there was a bizarre distortion to it that was unlike anything they'd ever heard.
“T-T-T-T-TWI-TWI-TWI-LIIIIII,” it stopped and then, its legs giving out as it took a few final steps, it made one more attempt at speech. “TWI-TWIIIIIIILIIIIIIIIIGHHHT S-S-SPAAARKLE-KLE-KLE-KKKKzzzt!”
The thing finally gave a distorted wheeze as it stumbled and pitched forward, collapsing loudly in a smoldering heap as its purple eyes went dark.
“Oh my gosh!” Apple Bloom cried, running over to check the pony's neck for a pulse.
“W-w-what do you think it is?” Sweetie Belle asked fearfully.
“I don’t know, but we can’t worry about it now!" Applebloom said, turning to them with wide, fearful eyes. "We gotta get Applejack and get this pony to a hospital!”
***
Twilight moved briskly up the hallway at Ponyville General Hospital that night. At the castle, a nurse had come banging loudly on her door with a message from Applejack. According to the message, she was needed as soon as possible. Fortunately, the nurse assured her that neither Applejack nor her family nor any of their friends were hurt. The nurse had only told her one thing: "You need to see this."
The rain outside had slowed to a light drizzle, so she shook the excess rainwater off her dampened mane. She rounded a corner and at the end of the hallway, standing just before the doors of the operating room, she spotted Applejack and a doctor.
“Twilight!” Applejack called, waving to her when she saw her approaching.
“Sh!” the doctor hissed, holding a hoof to his lips. “Some of the patients in the nearby wings are probably sleeping.”
“Ah, right, sorry,” she apologized, lowering her voice.
Twilight walked up to them and smiled, although she could not keep in place for long.
“Um, good evening Applejack, doctor,” she said. “I'm sorry, but I'm confused: your note seemed urgent, so I came as quickly as I could, but it also said nopony was hurt. What happened?”
Applejack and the doctor exchanged glances.
“Well,” the doctor began, “I can assure you that nopony is injured, but this is a special case." He narrowed his eyes. "I have never seen anything like this.”
“Wait, I remember you,” she said to the doctor, her eyes lighting up and a smile on her face. “You treated my friend Rainbow Dash when she hurt her wing!”
“Yes, and then she broke into my hospital and tried to steal a book,” he said, smirking, though he managed a smile as well.
“Oh... that's right.” She rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling.
“Water under the bridge, Miss Twilight.” He put his hoof out. "Dr. Stable, for the record." She took his hoof and shook it.
“Ahem," Applejack said, coughing deliberately. "Gettin’ to the point...”
“Oh, yes, of course. What happened?” Twilight asked.
“Well,” Applejack began, “it seems Apple Bloom and her Crusader friends were out a bit later than they meant to be. They got caught in the storm and made a run to get back to the house when they came across this pony wearin' armor.”
“Armor?” Twilight echoed. “Like, maybe one of the Royal Guard?”
“That’s what she figured. But she said it’d been struck by lightning!”
Twilight turned to the doctor, her mouth agape. “But... but you said nopony was injured!”
“That's right, nopony was. Just keep listening, you’ll understand,” Dr. Stable said, holding up a hoof.
Applejack continued her story: “Apple Bloom got Big Mac and me and we found it. Didn't talk, didn't seem to be breathin', and we couldn't get a pulse or nothin' from it. We were worried it was too late, but we decided to haul it over to the hospital to see if they could help. And you wouldn’t believe this, but," and here she looked at Twilight intently, "it took both of us to load it into the cart.”
"What? Both of you?!" Twilight's eyes went wide. "But how? Even with armor on, a single pony shouldn't be too heavy for a strong mare like you to lift, Applejack! And Big Macintosh could probably lift 10 ponies if he had to!"
“I know, I know, but we didn't think too much of it," Applejack said. "We just loaded it up brought it on over to the hospital and then--”
“--And then my team took over,” Dr. Stable finished, adjusting his glasses. “And Miss Applejack wasn’t lying. It took several team members to get it onto the operating table. We weren’t able to tell if there was a pulse or if it was breathing or anything like that, so we tried to remove the armor. And it wasn’t easy. It seemed to actually be bolted or even welded around the body. It seemed impossible to even pry off a single plate, but we finally got the side chest plate off after nearly half an hour of trying frantically. And then we found out something: it’s not armor. There was no pony inside at all.”
Twilight blinked and shook her head. “How can that be?” she asked. Then she raised a hoof to her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Unless... unless the armor was enchanted, perhaps? But that shouldn’t have affected the weight. Could it have had a gravitational distortion spell added, or perhaps an ethereal weight variance? Still, how could it have been empty? There should have been a concentrated magical field inside! No, no, there has to be some other explanation...”
“I didn’t say it was empty,” the doctor said, and with that, he turned and beckoned them both to enter the operating room. He pushed the doors open and gestured toward the operating table. “I just said there was no pony inside. But instead, we found all this.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide. “Wow,” she breathed.
The thing on the operating table was covered in metal which gleamed under the bright operating room lights. Laying on its side, it did look just like a sleeping, unconscious pony, but only at first glance. The mane and tail were clearly artificial, each made of a series of conical, flexible white tubes. The hooves weren’t merely covered in brass - they were brass! The eyes appeared to be covered by a glass visor, but the space behind them was now darkened and no eyes were visible. But most telling of all was that, with the chest plate removed, Twilight could now see the thing’s innards. Gears and wires and tubes were there in place of flesh and bone.
“It’s... it's a machine!” she gasped, her jaw going slack as she stared at the mechanical pony laid out before her.
“Indeed. I don’t know how to explain it, but Miss Applejack’s sister apparently encountered some sort of..." he tilted his head, pausing as he searched for the right word. "...Some sort of artificial pony. If I didn't know better, I'd say that this must be--”
“An automaton!” Twilight cried excitedly, bounding toward the machine. She laid her hooves on the operating table and she smiled, awestruck at the marvel before her. “I’ve only ever seen one in a museum! And this one… wow! It’s got, let’s see, clockwork here,” she said, peering inside the thing, “a lot of gears... and vacuum tubes here, and… oh oh oh, is that a magical step-up transformer attached to a chemical battery?! And there are other things I can’t quite see inside it. We’d have to remove more of the exterior. This is unbelievable! It’s too bad it was damaged by the lightning; some of the parts look burnt.”
Applejack stepped forward. “So, this contraption is just some kinda model or mannequin? Like a movin' statue?”
“No, no, it's more than that!" Twilight said, whirling around, gripping Applejack's shoulders. "An automaton can move and do simple tasks! Automata, or ‘Simulacra’ as the pony-shaped versions are sometimes called, were all the rage about a hundred years ago! Of course, they were expensive and couldn’t do much and they fell out of favor for some reason, but I totally see why Apple Bloom thought that it might have been a real pony. It's just the right size and shape, but," she paused, her excitement giving way to curiosity as she released Applejack and rubbed her chin, "I wonder how it got in your orchard?" She furrowed her brow. "Someone must have just dumped it there.”
Applejack shook her head. “No, Twilight, I saw the hoofprints it made myself and Apple Bloom swears she saw it move toward her. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said the same thing. This here Otto-whatever got into my orchard by walkin’ there.”
Twilight froze. "Did you see anypony else nearby?"
Applejack blinked. "Uh, no. There was nopony else. Why?"
“That can’t be right. They were built to move and sometimes dance and things like that, but they had preset motions." She nodded to herself. "Yes, there must have been an operator. Without an operator nearby, it could never navigate through your apple orchard. Not independently. It would have bumped into trees and gotten stuck. You must be mistaken.”
Applejack frowned and drew herself up. “Well, it can navigate through the trees because that's exactly what it did!” Applejack insisted, poking her in the chest. “And there’s one more thing you gotta know, Twi, and this is the reason I had ‘em send for ya: Apple Bloom and the other girls swear this thing talked.”
Twilight's eyes bulged. "That's... that's impossible. I've studied these machines before and I've seen deactivated old models in museums. Admittedly, they never looked as sophisticated or modern as this one, but in all my studies, I've never read any account of an automaton that could speak. That's the stuff of fiction." She paused. “But if it really could speak, then... then what did it say?”
Applejack hesitated. “Your name, Twilight,” she finally replied. “I asked her if she was sure, but Apple Bloom swears that the last thing it said before it keeled over was your name.”
Twilight felt her blood go cold. "My name? But why me?"
"No idea, Twi," Applejack replied, her frown deepening. "That's why we called ya."
Twilight took a deep breath. Fidgeting with her wings she began to pace back and forth in the operating room, muttering to herself as she tried to work out what to do next. “An automaton… walking, talking like a normal pony… just moving independently… functional remote control… magical enchantment? No, no, too sophisticated… New technological advances? It can’t be so advanced, but the evidence… this is… oh my gosh, this can’t be… but it is! It is!... Oh gosh, what do I do now?...”
Dr. Stable leaned over to Applejack. “Is this, um… normal behavior?” he whispered.
“Heh. For her it is,” she replied with a smirk.
“I just mention it because we do have a very restful mental health wing provided for ponies who mutter to themselves...”
“I’ve got it!” Twilight exclaimed suddenly, her wings opening as if to punctuate her decision. “Doctor, do you think you can get some volunteers to help Applejack and me bring this automaton back to my castle?”
He blinked at the sudden question but then nodded. “I suppose so. It doesn’t seem we have any other injuries from the storm tonight. Guess some ponies decided to actually listen to the weather team for once,” he grumbled, giving a roll of his eyes. “It’s a quiet night, so perhaps the orderlies could use a little exercise. I'll get them right on it.”
Applejack eyed Twilight carefully, turning her head to the side. “Uh, why exactly are we haulin’ this thing back to the castle in the middle of the night, Sugarcube?”
Twilight now flashed a grin. “We just stumbled across one of the most amazing scientific discoveries in decades and it knows my name! It’s broken, though, so if we want to find out why it was looking for me, there’s only one thing to do: I’m going to fix it!”
She turned to run back down the hall, looking over her shoulder as she went. “I’ll go get a room ready at the castle. I’ll meet you back here in just a few minutes!”
“If you say so,” Applejack said, watching her go. She turned to the doctor. “Uh, before we get this goin’, um…" she lowered her voice and shifted her eyes to the left, making sure the hallway was clear. "Could I see ya about that problem again?”
Dr. Stable nodded, though he gave her a tired look. “Yes, I’ll set up an appointment for tomorrow, but I doubt it’ll be any different from what I always say,” he replied.
“Right, right,” she said, looking disappointed. “Thanks, Doc.”
***
The next day, Twilight gathered her friends in a small room of the castle. The mechanical pony was on a table in much the same state it had been found earlier. Twilight had removed several more metal plates from its exterior, revealing the bizarre metallic framework inside. They could now see the pistons in its legs and the tubing leading up through the neck and a host of other machinery that filled the body. A twisting network of wires connected it all together. Twilight had also placed stacks of books and papers all around the room.
“Well, everypony, here it is!” Twilight exclaimed, sweeping her foreleg out dramatically. “This could be one of the most amazing advances in science since the invention of the train!”
They all looked to Twilight, then to the machine, and then back to her.
“Uh, no offense, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, raising an eyebrow, “but what exactly is so special about a pony made of metal?”
“I agree,” Rarity said. She made a face, shaking her head at it disapprovingly. “Looking at it, especially with its inner workings showing like that, it is rather, well, garish, don’t you think?”
Twilight frowned in annoyance. “I know it looks strange, but this could be something amazing! Think of what you could do with something like this!”
Pinkie Pie bounced over to Twilight excitedly. “Exactly!” she said. “I had a mechanical pony toy like this once! You wound it up with a key and it went all WHRRRRR and it moved around on wheels on its hooves and the horn lit up and everything! It was really cool... until my dad sat on it and then it didn’t work so well.”
“Uh, Pinkie--”
“But a toy this big is way too big for anypony’s dad to sit on it! I bet this thing could stand up to TEN dad butts!”
Twilight sighed but smiled. “Well, it’s not a toy, Pinkie, but you are right: this machine should be really sturdy. It could probably stand up to all sorts of punishment." She smirked. "Dad butts included!”
“Woohoo!”
“Well, not for nothin’, Twilight,” Applejack said, “but why would you need it to take any punishment?”
“Think of it like this,” Twilight began, tapping her chin in thought. “Um… oh, I know! Fluttershy?” She pointed her hoof in Fluttershy's direction.
“Hm? Sorry, what?” she asked. She had been staring at the automaton uneasily, not really following the conversation until Twilight got her attention.
“Imagine one of your animals got into a dangerous situation," Twilight said. "Like, say, if Angel fell in a hole or there was an earthquake or storm and he got trapped inside a collapsing building.”
“Oh my goodness!” she cried, putting her hooves to her cheeks, practically tearing up at the thought. “That’d be awful!”
“Exactly. Now imagine--”
“He would be so scared! And maybe hurt! And hungry! And I would do my best to save him, but what if it was too dark in the hole? Or the building was on fire?!”
“Um, Fluttershy--”
“Or what if he broke his poor little bunny leg?! Oh no, no, no!” she shouted, shaking her head back and forth hysterically.
“FLUTTERSHY,” Twilight said, moving in close to face her. “Yes, that would be terrible, but you wouldn’t have to worry. And do you know why?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, no. Why?”
“Because this could save him!” she said, gesturing toward the automaton. “A mechanical pony, an automaton as strong as a whole team of the toughest stallions, totally immune to pain and fear, has come to rescue Angel! Your pet will be safe and nopony has to go into a dangerous situation and get hurt in the process!”
Fluttershy's eyes went wide and she gasped. “Wow! That's amazing!” She smiled broadly, enchanted by the prospect and even clapped her hooves together. “Oh, Twilight, that’s such a great idea! Do you really think it could do something like that?”
“I do,” Twilight said. She turned to look at all of her friends now, her gaze turning serious. “I don’t know who built this automaton, but if it can move independently like Applejack said it was doing, then we could be doing Equestria a huge favor by fixing it. Who knows, maybe the inventor of this machine is looking for it and will be grateful to us for fixing it!”
The others seemed to understand and one by one voiced their general agreement. Applejack, however, just coughed to get everypony's attention.
“Now, this is all fine and good, Twi, but don’t forget that this thing came around sayin’ your name. It was lookin’ for ya." She looked to the silent automaton and then back to Twilight. "Ya don’t think that’s even a little bit suspicious? Maybe… I don’t know, maybe we shouldn’t try fixin’ it. What if some evil pony sent it after ya?”
Twilight smiled and put her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “I have thought about that. And that’s why I brought you all here. It isn’t going to hurt anypony now, not when it’s still broken. But if we fix it, maybe we can find out together what it wanted with me. It might be dangerous, but maybe somepony sent it to get my help. And if that’s the case, then maybe they need all our help. We are a team, after all, right?”
“Right!” they all shouted.
At that moment, the door opened and Spike entered, carrying another book and a blank scroll. “Here’s that last book you asked for, Twilight. I got it from the public library. It’s got some information on old automata from East Trottingham.”
“Thanks, Spike! Okay, so on to business, everypony! I know this might take some time, but I need your help.”
“I was starting to wonder,” Rarity asked. “I must admit, though, I’m not very good with repair work.”
“Yeah, if it’s a barn or a busted fence, then I’m your pony,” Applejack said, “but I don’t know a thing about contraptions like this.”
“Actually,” Twilight said, blushing slightly, “I don’t really know much about this type of machine either. I’m more familiar with potions and devices that work with magical energy. And it seems this automaton works with a few magical devices, but the rest? I have no idea. Even if we don’t know what these things are, however, all these books should help us figure out what the parts are. I’ve already taken some pictures and I’m going to write to Princess Celestia to ask if she can send an expert on technology to help us. But if we can identify some of the different parts first, that’ll help whoever she sends!”
“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, sliding to the floor, “more studying?”
“Just enough to find pictures and stuff that matches,” Twilight assured her. “You don’t have to read the whole book. Just skim it.”
“Eh, I guess I could do that. It would be pretty cool to try and get this bucket of bolts up and running.”
Twilight levitated a book over to her. “This might be a good place to start, then. It’s a book on antique automata that could fly.”
“Whoa! They had those?!” Dash leaned forward, taking the book excitedly.
“Yep. Not too far or fast, but they still had them! And I’ve got a few more. One on mechanical animals for Fluttershy, dancing clockwork displays for Rarity, musical ones for Pinkie, and even one on attempts to make automata that could do farm labor for Applejack!”
They all took their respective books eagerly, with the exception of Applejack, who took her book with a sarcastic “Yeah, swell,” muttered under her breath.
While the others began their task of identifying the parts of the machine, Twilight and Spike took to writing the letter.
“Ahem. ‘Dear Princess Celestia,’” Twilight dictated as Spike wrote her words down. “‘Something amazing has happened in Ponyville! My friends and I have discovered a broken mechanical pony, an automaton, just like the kinds that were popular a hundred years ago. However, this one seems new, and supposedly it could move on its own. I’d like to fix it, but I need some expert help. Could you please send somepony who knows a lot about machines to help us? There must be somepony, perhaps in Canterlot, who knows something about this. I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Sincerely yours, Twilight Sparkle.’”
“Okay, got it,” Spike said. “Anything else?”
“Make sure to enclose the photographs we took, okay?”
“No problem,” Spike said, folding them into the scroll. “Here goes!” Using his magical fire breath, he sent the letter, watching it disappear into the ether.
“I can’t wait to see who she recommends!” Twilight said eagerly, clapping her hooves together.
A few moments later, she got her reply as Spike belched forth a scroll with the royal seal on it. “Wow, she sent a reply already!”
The other ponies stopped their reading as Spike unfurled the letter. “Okay… ‘Dear Princess Twilight,’” he began, reading the reply. “‘Automata were only a novelty in their day and nothing more. Somepony else wasted their time making it, so they will surely come looking for it. I don’t think it’s necessary for a Princess of Equestria to...’ uh, whoa,” Spike said, pausing.
“What? What is it, Spike?” Twilight asked.
“Um," he swallowed, continuing hesitantly, "she says, ‘I don’t think it’s necessary for a Princess of Equestria to waste her time on such things as well. I recommend you leave it as it is or else have it scrapped so you may focus on your role as Princess of Friendship. Kindest regards, Princess Celestia.’”
They were all silent.
“Wow,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the silence. “She doesn’t seem that interested, Twilight.”
“Maybe she’s right,” Applejack said. “I mean, really, what does this have to do with Friendship anyway?”
“Not everything I spend my time on has to be a royal duty,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “But you’re right, Rainbow Dash. Princess Celestia usually supports any research I do. I wonder why she seems so uninterested. It’s not like her." She sat, closing her eyes and folding her forelegs, trying to think of the answer. "Well... I'm not sure of her reasons, but no matter. This is important to me, so let’s try again. Spike, can you take another letter?”
“Of course,” he said, readying a second scroll.
“Then let’s try this. ‘Dear Princess Celestia: I know this isn’t part of my royal duties, but this might actually be more important than I originally stated. The girls who found this mechanical pony all claim that it said my name before it broke down. Even though there are no records of a talking automaton, I absolutely believe them when they say this. Whoever created this advanced machine specifically sent it to find me. I don’t want to leave this mystery unsolved. I would greatly appreciate your help in restoring it so we can get to the bottom of this. Your dear friend, Twilight Sparkle.’”
“Nice,” Rainbow Dash said, smiling and nodding her head approvingly.
“That’s sure to work!” Spike agreed, sending the letter.
A few minutes later, they got their reply. “‘Dear Princess Twilight,’” Twilight said, reading this one aloud herself. “‘I still have my doubts, as I personally lived through the heyday of automata and simulacra, and you are correct: never once did I hear of such a thing as one that could talk or move on its own. If that is true, however, then perhaps you are right and this mystery should be solved. I believe I know of somebody who would be of great help. Allow me to contact him and I will let you know if I can arrange for him to assist you in Ponyville. Please be very careful, however. I fear that whoever sent this machine may seek to do you harm. I wish you and your friends the best of luck with your research and repairs. Sincerely, Princess Celestia.’”
“Oh my, that went much better!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “But, um, did anypony else catch that she said she knew of ‘somebody,’ and not ‘somepony?’”
Twilight considered it. “Maybe it’s a mistake?”
The next day, she would learn that it was not a mistake.
To be continued...
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Keep at it! This was great.
well. robot ponies. youu have my attention.
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5821796
Thank you both! I have the first three chapters done. After some editing, I'll be adding the next two chapters this weekend!
5822370 awesome! I can't wait!
(Joke) Alt. Title: Do Automatons Wonder What Friendship Could Be? (Face To Face)
Why yes, somebody instead of somepony isn't a typo... Because they do actually use somebody sometimes. I can't think of any specific examples, but believe me it's there. And don't get me wrong, I know what you're doing; I just thought I'd point that out for, quite honestly, no reason at all. Anyways, I can find no real fault with this story, and I'll be making sure to keep an eye on it.
Also, completely unrelated to the chapter title...
5822428 Oh holy cow I love that alternate title.
I also did think of Daft Punk after I wrote the title, but it wasn't intentional. But I do still love that song. Thanks for the awesome comment!
5822436
You are most very welcome.
You had to, didn't you? Lol!
I like it.
First chapter is very well written. I sure grabbed my attention!
Gah, curse my expert knowledge of robotics!
If it has a metal exterior, lightning can't hurt it, because the metal exterior would form a Faraday cage, and very little if any electricity would go inside due to the skin effect. (Well, unless a lot of the electronics were connected to the metal armor, but that would be pretty bad design.)
The rain might hurt it, but that's only if there are large enough openings to its internals, which kind of defeats the purpose of the metal armor.
Other than that, this is pretty great.
Edit: also, I liked that Celestia didn't outright dismiss the automaton. If I had known such things to be only clockwork, I would dismiss it as unimportant as well, but once you add some much, much more advanced electronics, they can become pretty useful.
Ooh, a Gynoid. Guessing Gyniod by the sheer amount of mare over stallions, but it could just as well be an Android. Now, how the hell did that get into Equestria? I shall read on to find out.
That sounds a bit like, do my job, she sounds also a it mean.
Not sure what to think about the last sentence, but till now it is already a bit interessting.
...and then they turned it on.
"Come with me if you want to liff." It said in a thick Austrian accent.
Now I'm thinking terminator.... Hmmm...
I read that as Anal Free Press. There is literally zero reason for me to have read it like that. I think I need to go to bed now...
Wow, no wonder technology seems to progress so slowly in Equestrian. Celestia is like thise politicians who cut science funding.
This is compelling so far! Not a lot of the really long stories succeed at pulling me in so quickly. Which isn't to say I'm committed to reading the whole thing, but I'll definitely continue for a while. It seemed to me at first like Celestia had a hidden motive in dissuading Twilight. I liked your use of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And nice quote at the top! It 'scores points', as you put it in your comment on my story.
6018728 Um, I think Gynoid or android would be pushing it, this is more in line with a simple living construct. Android implies that it is close enough to human(or simply living creature) in appearance to pass off as one at first glance. This is a clockwork automaton.
I'm surprise nobody pointed out the cutie mark crusaders as earth ponies.
6642886 The picture's fairly new, but I chalked it up to Sweetie's hair getting obscuring it and Scootaloo being partially in shadow. But I suppose I can mention that to the illustrator. Thanks for the feedback! Hope you like the story, inaccurate illustrations notwithstanding.
6644070 No problem :) and I do like where this story is going.
6647927 And thanks to your catch, the picture has been updated! Much obliged!
pre05.deviantart.net/d826/th/pre/f/2015/325/d/2/cmc_find_003_v2_by_maruraba-d9hka4e.jpg
6656603 Much cooler!
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Stop repressing technological advances Celestia, that is why you still have coal trains.
I'm thinking, she sent it, to herself... :D
7116436 Hey, welcome to the story! I hope you like it.
And no, if you're wondering who Celestia sent the request to, I assure you it was not herself.
Wow, great start! The Futurama reference in the beginning was funny!
6810900 Better than weaponized megaspells...
Let's see if I can headcanon my way in through the tech expert!
7668568
Having one does not necessarily mean having the other. We managed to not kill the world after WW2, and we're f***ing humans!
I'm not really a fan of Sci-Fi stories. That's why this remained on my RiL shelf for about four months. I mean, I've heard that it's very good, but robots? Not my kind of story. I really regret keeping this on that shelf for so long...
It's just the first chapter, and I'm already hooked and loving it! Very few people impress me this quickly with stories. 
You would look rather garish too, if your innards ever became outtards
8041519
Ha!
"Outtards."
And welcome to the story. I hope you find it to your liking.
I found this randomly but WOAH
I wasn't expecting it to span over 50 chapters. I'm so gonna enjoy reading this.
Unless ponies use keyboards or similar devices (typewriters maybe?), they shouldn't be using the word 'typo'.
8400603
t those typewriters only have three buttons, and, in fairness, Celestia's letter was written by quill, so you're still right. I'll change it to "mistake." 
Well...
mlpwritingismagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Typewriter.png
vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/4/4a/Rainbow_Dash_pushing_typewriter_S4E04.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/640?cb=20131209103611
Though I just realized that holy sh
Twilight: ...No reason! Just a.... You know.... A servant! Yes, a servant! It needs to be liqui- WATER PROOF and durable to withstand the punishment of its main function! I even have a maid outfi-UNIFORM for it! Heh-he-heh...
Hum.
Slightly slipshod, with errant grammar, awkward phrasing and pacing, and abundant passive voice throughout.
Everypony seems reasonably close to on-model, but there's a few sections of dialogue where the same things are said repeatedly, and Celestia feels incredibly OOC.
But still, it's rather charming.
8485348 Twilight, you massive perv. You did INHERIT Celestia’s love for maid outfits after all.
She is not a chicken.
8836009
hahahaha it seems she did
One pony's madness is another's genius and Twilight had a bit of both, I mean ponies have to be a little crazy if they can accept Pinkie Pie.
And so it begins again. Time for the reread.
8881307
It always makes me happy to hear someone say they liked my story enough to actually read it again, even with its considerable length. Thanks for your support!
Mmm. Time for my. . third, fourth re-read? I forget. There aren't too many robot-focused stories that aren't just revolving around Sweetie Bot. The concept of machine sapience is one of my favorite things to read about.
8881412
Dude, yours is small fry compared to some on here
Bitch whet. Is metal you aint gonna feel shot theough that.
8871929
Thats where your wrong.
10346410
A chicken can fly to an extent, sort of a flutter jump. A chicken can fly better than Scootaloo sadly.