Rhinestone Eyes, Part 2
Turing Test gazed up at the creature before her. His grin remained in place for a few moments, but it started to falter when she remained both silent and motionless.
“Uh, hello?” Discord said, waving a paw before her eyes. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you that it isn’t polite to stare?”
“I do not have a mother. Or eyelids.” Then she lowered her head. “I did not realize my manner of looking at others was rude.”
Discord bent down and lifted her chin. “Now now, I think in your case we can make an exception.” His grin returned. “Besides, it’s not like I’m known for my etiquette in any case,” he said with a chuckle.
He then took to the air and began circling her, his long body curving easily as he observed her closely. Turing watched as he circled.
“Analyzing… error.” Her eyes contracted. “Unexpected.”
“Something wrong?” Discord asked, stopping to levitate in front of her.
“My ocular sensors are capable of analyzing different objects and organisms. This includes heat, vitals, and magical energy. I am able to gain data from seeing ponies cast spells and analyze it. You are also producing a noticeably large magical field, but I am unable to properly identify and analyze it.”
He thrust his lion paw at her, poking her tiny nose. Her eyes momentarily became red circles with a white X in their center.
“ERROR,” she intoned.
“As I said, I’m the Master of Chaos!” He stood up straight, spreading his arms wide. “Trying to make sense of me? No wonder it’s impossible!”
He then transformed into a sizable yellow book that flopped onto the ground before her. It bore the title Discord For Dummies on the front cover. “If you want to read me like an open book,” came his disembodied voice, “then you’ll just have to read between the lines!”
Turing hesitated a moment, but when he said nothing else, she flipped the book open. No sooner had she done so, when Discord’s eagle claw reached out of the book, seizing her foreleg, and dragged her inside.
When she looked around her, she was in an off-white world filled with jumbled text and illustrations all around her.
“What is this place?” Turing asked as Discord walked over to her, only now seeing that he appeared to be a colorless, inky sketch.
“Oh, just the world of books. And not just one book, like the spell that Haycartes guy came up with,” he said, rolling his eyes and making sarcastic circles in the air with his finger. “No no no, this is the world of all books! Here, watch!”
He snapped his fingers, and a dark rectangular panel appeared above them. Turing suddenly heard Spike’s voice.
***
Spike looked down at his comic book. “Oh wow, how will the Power Ponies get out of this?” he said. “I can’t wait to see them take on the Mane-iac!”
He turned the page and saw a panel in the middle of the page that was in black and white. Discord flew up to the panel, and was now wearing a white shirt, black pants, and a black leather jacket. He also had his mane styled into a mass of curls.
“Hey, Spike!” Discord shouted, his rotoscoped face leering up at him. “Think the Power Ponies could take on me?!”
Spike yelled and dropped the comic book, letting it shut. He rubbed his eyes. “Did… what just happened?!”
***
Turing tilted her head to the left and right as Discord doubled over with laughter.
“We were in Spike the Dragon’s comic book?”
“Exactly!” Discord managed to say between laughs.
Turing Test looked all around her. “This world… I cannot analyze it.”
“Oh, stop analyzing!” Discord snapped, straightening himself out, glaring down at her. “Quit being so analytical and just experience things for a change! What, have you been spending time with Twilight Sparkle?”
Turing’s ears perked up. “You know Twilight Sparkle?”
“Yes, although it seems she didn’t see fit to tell you about me in return.” He crossed his arms, pouting. “Why if she were here, I’d…” He paused and then grinned as he steepled his fingers.
***
Twilight sat in her hotel room in Appleloosa, reading a book. She turned the page and was confronted with a picture of Discord, tinted blue.
“Twilight!” he cried. “I must have the blue pages!”
“Uwah!” Twilight exclaimed, sitting up straight.
“Is that Twilight Sparkle?” Turing Test pushed into the tiny window next to Discord. “It is. Hello, Twilight Sparkle. How are you?”
“Wha… Discord? Turing?! What are you--”
“I’m introducing myself, Twilight!” Discord said, beaming at her. “Have fun on your little mission! In the meantime, I’ll be having fun with my new toy.”
The picture went blank before Twilight could respond. Her eyes widened as the book dropped from her hooves.
“Oh, Sweet Celestia…”
***
There was a flash and Turing saw that they were no longer in the world of the book, but back outside on the pathway between Fluttershy’s house and Ponyville.
“Your power to manipulate the world and reality to your will is impressive,” she said.
“Why, thank you!” he said with a bow. “Still, you seem a bit blasé about the whole thing. Most ponies find my abilities simply mind-blowing!”
At that, his head exploded in a loud burst of flame and smoke. A bag then appeared in his claw that said “Spare Heads” on the side. He unzipped it, pulled out a fresh head, and put it back on his neck, the bag disappearing promptly afterward. He looked down at her expectantly.
She only stared back at him.
“Well, um,” he muttered, clearing his throat, “enough about me. Why not tell me more about you, um… Tur… Turny? Turbo?”
“Turing Test.”
“Right, right...”
“As previously stated, I am a robot. A machine. I also must correct you, Discord: you referred to me as a ‘toy.’ I am not--”
“Oh, but I’ve seen mechanical ponies like you before!” Discord exclaimed. “I only got to see them since my release from my stone prison, but I didn’t realize they made them so large!”
A large wind-up key appeared in his hand and he jammed it into Turing’s back, turning it with several loud clicks. When he released it, Turing’s legs stiffly began to march her forward.
“This is not my intended use,” she said as she mechanically walked face-first into a nearby tree. Her legs kept moving even though she was no longer getting anywhere. “I must ask you to stop. I am not a wind-up toy.”
“Oh, of course, silly me!” Discord said, pulling the key from her back. “You’re more like one of those action figures that really talks!”
“I have already demonstrated speech--” She stopped when a plastic ring attached to a string appeared on her back. “What is this?”
Discord picked her up, holding her around the midsection and pulled the string back before letting it go.
“What are you CAKE - AND - GRIEF - COUNSELING - WILL - BE - AVAILABLE - AT - THE - CONCLUSION - OF - THE - TEST.”
“Oh my goodness, that’s hilarious!” Discord guffawed loudly as he pulled the string again.
“I must insist DEAD - OR - ALIVE, - YOU’RE - COMING - WITH - ME.” She shook her head. “Why am I saying these things?”
“No idea! Let’s try the next one!” He pulled the string.
“No, I do not WHAT - AM - I - FIGHTING - FOR?!”
“Eugh, that one was a little melodramatic,” he said, making a sour face, pulling the string once again.
“REFERENCE - JOKES - ARE - NOT - FUNNY.”
“I’m inclined to disagree, but I think this gag has overstayed its welcome,” Discord said, holding Turing up to his face. “Any more features? Ooh, do you have ‘Karate Chop Action?’”
“I find this degrading. Put me down.”
Discord promptly dropped her, letting her hit the ground heavily, a metallic clang ringing through her body. “All right, all right, I was just having a little fun! Yeesh, aren’t you touchy!”
Turing got to her hooves and lowered her head.
“I am sorry,” she said quietly.
Discord froze, tilting his head, noting the tone of her voice. “Come again?”
“Your treatment of me was causing me to move and talk regardless of my own will. Although Twilight Sparkle has encouraged me to exercise my own will, I began as a purely functional machine. As I have become more aware of my own identity, I have also come to value having certain freedoms to choose.” She sat heavily on the ground, lowering her ears. “However, I recently was given total freedom to act and I used that freedom in a way I had not anticipated. I believe I did something… bad.”
Discord looked down at her. He then sat down, coiling his snake-like body into a tight heap, and smiled at her.
“Tell me about it.”
Turing then began to relate the story of what had happened several days earlier, including the events of the Nightmare Night celebration, the visit to the Castle of the Two Sisters, what happened to Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle, and finally what she had done to subdue Grace and Glory.
“My!” Discord said, sitting up straight at the conclusion of the tale. “That certainly was dramatic!” He rubbed his chin. “So, let me see if I’ve got this straight: you think you did something wrong because everypony told you it was wrong to use violence and that you would be punished if you ever did?”
“Correct.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Even though everypony now says otherwise? Even though Celestia herself excused you?”
“I have noticed that organics are often kind and say that something was of no consequence even though the opposite is true. Furthermore, being forgiven for an action does not mean the action itself was positive. It was made clear to me that I had no right to use violence. It was made clear to me that a robot using violence against organics was the worst offense one could commit. I then made the decision to do so. If I was given the freedom to make the choice and accept the consequences, then I am also free to judge my own actions.”
Discord pursed his lips. “I see.”
“I anticipate that you will now attempt to mollify or console me.”
Discord raised an eyebrow, then held up a paw, waving it. “Nah.”
Turing’s ears straightened. “‘Nah?’”
“Is there an echo out here? That’s right, it seems you’ve already made up your little mechanical mind, so why should I bother to change it?” He yawned. “Besides, you may be right. After all, Celestia is quite forgiving… another thing I’m an expert on, by the way.”
Turing said nothing at first, though her ears were twitching. “You are a very strange lifeform, Discord. Even for an organic.”
“Why, thank you!” he exclaimed, putting a claw to his chest. “But let’s change the subject, shall we?” He craned his long neck, stretching it down to look Turing right in the eyes. “Would you mind telling me why you were visiting my dear friend Fluttershy?”
“My primary directive is to make friends. Spike the Dragon pointed out that Fluttershy was in need of a friend to watch the butterfly migration this afternoon. My directive demanded that I attempt to befriend her.”
“And yet she turned you down?” He frowned. “Tell me,” he said, his voice growing darker, “what reason would she have to treat you so harshly?”
Turing recounted the first time she’d met Fluttershy and scared the metaphorical pants off her.
“Ah. That would explain it.” He smiled. “By the way, when I get up close like this, your eyes sort of look like rhinestones!”
“They are polished amethyst.”
“Never mind that.” He stood up straight once again. “Well, as it happens, I happen to be a friend of Fluttershy’s and Twilight Sparkle’s. And any friend of Twilight Sparkle’s is a friend of mine!” He frowned for a moment. “Except for that Minuette… little meddler told me she could help ‘correct’ my teeth, as if anything were wrong with them!”
“Please clarify: you are offering to be my friend?”
“If you’re willing, that is!” he said, his smile returning.
“I see. Very well. I accept your friendship.”
“Excellent!” Discord said, leaping into the air and remaining there. “Then let us proceed!”
He snapped his fingers and the world around them disappeared in a flash, only to be replaced with a grove filled with flowering trees and bushes.
Turing Test looked all around her, taking in the view. Flowers of red, white, orange, and yellow covered every plant in sight. She detected heavy amounts of pollen in the air. “What is this place? And what did you mean by ‘proceed?’”
“This is the Autumn Bloom Grove,” Discord replied, sweeping his clawed arm around demonstratively. “These peculiar trees and bushes all bloom in late summer and early autumn, making them the perfect stop for butterflies migrating south for the oncoming winter.”
Turing spotted several butterflies that had already arrived and were fluttering from one tiny flower to another.
“Then this is the place where Fluttershy will arrive to watch the butterfly migration, correct?”
“Correctomundo, Amiga 500!”
“I should take my leave before she arrives and I frighten her.”
As she turned to go, Discord whipped his tail forward and wrapped it around Turing, lifting her up to his eye level.
“Oh no no no!” he said, wagging a finger at her. “This is how I’m going to help you out, my new friend!” He narrowed his eyes at her, a knowing grin on his face. “Though I, for one, find you positively adorable, it seems Fluttershy is a little intimidated by your looks. So I’m about to give you a makeover the likes of which Rarity could only dream of!”
“I do not--”
Discord snapped his fingers.
“--understand.” Suddenly Discord’s face was exponentially larger. Turing looked down and saw that she was now standing on the very tip of Discord’s tail, the tuft of fur at its end nearly as tall as she was. Furthermore, her legs were now segmented and pointy. Also, there were six of them. She heard Discord’s rumbling chuckle and tried to twitch her ears, only to find that they were gone. Instead, she noticed, she had two long spindly wires running from her forehead: antennae.
She swivelled her head around to confirm her suspicions. She saw that she had two wide, thin wings that were made of the same polymer as her mane. She was still metallic, still a robot, but no longer a pony.
She was a butterfly.
“Ha ha! Even cuter than before!” He made a show of making big, glassy “puppy-dog” eyes, but then resumed his usual smug expression. “Now then, you might want to try flying.”
Turing wasn’t sure what the point of this was, but decided to try it out anyway. The motors and servos in her oblong body came to life and her wings began to beat rapidly, allowing her to easily take off and hover. She wasn’t sure how she knew how to do this, but supposed it was a side-effect of Discord’s magic. She came closer to Discord and hovered before his eyes.
“I must ask you to return me to my normal form, Discord. I do not wish to be a butterfly.”
Discord frowned and tilted his ear toward her. “What’s that? I’m afraid you’ll have to speak up!”
“I asked you to return me to normal.”
“Nope, just getting little high-pitched squeaks.” He shrugged. “Oh well! The important thing is that now Fluttershy will find you irresistible! Although I imagine other predatory animals will too, so, you know, keep your wits about you.”
“Predatory animals?”
“Still didn’t catch that. Anyway, my little Iron Butterfly, you stay put here with the other cute, dainty little Lepidoptera and have a good old time until I return!”
“But--”
Discord vanished in another flash of light. Turing found herself alone… until she realized that many more butterflies were beginning to arrive.
Analyzing situation… aborted. She cancelled the analytical process. Re-evaluating prior instruction: Discord told this unit to ‘quit being so analytical’ and ‘just experience things for a change.’ This may be the correct course of action. If this unit is to pose as a butterfly, then I should join other butterflies and attempt to socialize with them.
Turing Test spotted a nearby bush with many flowers and began to approach it. She set down on the petals of a large white flower, noticing that it barely bent at all under her weight. She was used to the idea of being exceptionally heavy compared to other ponies, but was now light enough to alight on a flower without disturbing it much at all.
As she walked forward, into the eye of the flower, the chunks of yellow pollen began sticking to her legs. She held up a leg, gazing at it.
“Interesting.”
“Yo, you gonna drink that nectar or just sit there all day?”
Turing turned her head and saw a large Monarch butterfly hovering nearby. Curiously, it was speaking through the end of its proboscis, sounding a bit like somepony speaking while holding their nose.
“Ah. No, I am… full.” She moved over, letting the Monarch land on the flower. He began to lap up the nectar.
“Aw daaang, these are some good flowers! Hey, Twinkle Wings!” He waved his front leg at a passing Monarch. “Yo, man, try this!”
“Oh, sure, bro!” the other butterfly said. He came down and likewise took a drink. “Duuude, this is some primo nectar! Like, I haven’t had stuff like this since last spring!”
A few more butterflies came down nearby. “Twinkle Wings, Schmetterlingo, that you?” asked one.
“Pollinate my garden, it is!” said the other, with a bit of a twang. “How you doing! Ain’t seen y’all since you were caterpillars!”
“Same here, Pupa D, Pappy Low!” Twinkle Wings said.
“Yeh, but you look like you coulda stayed in yo’ cocoon a few more days!”
“Ohhhh, dude, bro!” Twinkle Wings and Schmetterlingo bumped thoraxes, laughing hysterically as the other butterfly, Pupa D, rolled his compound eyes.
“Whoa, whoa, hold up!” said Pupa D’s companion. “Who is this pretty little thang?” He fluttered over to Turing, giving her the best bedroom eyes a butterfly could.
“I am Turing Test.”
“Well, Turing Test, that sure is a shiny abdomen ya got there,” he said, walking around her. “In fact… I can see myself in it.”
The other three made various guffaws and cries of “Ohhh!” as they high-”fived” each other.
Turing’s antennae twitched slightly. “Yes, my outer chassis is somewhat reflective.”
“Yo, hold up, Pappy Low,” Schmetterlingo said. “This chick ain’t no Monarch. Hey, baby, what species are you?”
“My species?” The other butterflies were all looking at her expectantly. “I am a… Robotterfly?”
“Figured,” Twinkle Wings said, heaving a sigh. “Just leave her alone, Pappy.”
“Tch, y’all are just closed-minded.” He took Turing’s front leg and used the end of his proboscis to kiss it. “Don’t pay them no mind, miss. Say, it ain’t mating season, but come next spring, if y’all are interested…”
Turing tilted her head as he trailed off. “You are asking me to mate? I do not believe that will be possible.”
“Shot dooowwwn!” Pupa D hollered.
“Aw come on, girl,” he said, looking wounded. “It ain’t like we’ll live forever.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Pupa D said, fluttering over to another flower. “Way I see it, we--”
There was a sharp shrieking sound that Turing noticed sounded remarkably like a bird chirping and a bright red blur swooped in among them. There was a yell and suddenly Pupa D was gone. They looked up at the sound of his voice and saw a cardinal flying away with him in its beak.
“Awww snap!” Schmetterlingo moaned. “Dang tweety ate ‘im up!”
The three were silent for a second.
“Ah well, y’all wanna get some more nectar?”
“Sure thing, bro!”
“Aight.”
Turing was still processing what had happened. “Wait,” she said. “You do not wish to express further sadness?”
“No time, baby,” Schmetterlingo said. “Just the Cycle of Life.”
“Shyeah,” Twinkle Wings agreed. “Besides, we only live to be like… what, three years old?”
“Yo, my gramps lived to be five until a spider ate 'im.”
Turing watched as the three of them flew away.
Recommencing analysis… complete. Findings: butterfly socialization does not match expectations.
***
Fluttershy, wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat and a pair of binoculars around her neck, approached the clearing of trees. Discord, dressed similarly, walked casually beside her.
“I’m so glad you decided to join me after all, Discord!” Fluttershy said, smiling up at him. “I thought you said butterfly watching was boring!”
“Boring? Me?!” he gasped, placing a hand on his chest, as if stricken. “You wound me, mon capitan!”
She raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t that be ma capitan?”
“Heck if I know! Aaanyway, butterfly watching can be loads of fun!” Under his breath he added, “If you know how, that is.”
“Discord, did you just mutter something under your breath?” She flew up, hovering in front of him with a reproachful look in her eye.
“What? N-no, of course not!” he said, refusing to meet her gaze.
“Hm.” She shrugged and returned to the ground. “Well, never mind that! We’re here!”
They entered the clearing of the Autumn Bloom Grove. Her eyes lit up as she saw literally hundreds, perhaps thousands of butterflies swarming over the trees and bushes. They came in all manner of colors and flew all over in great clouds and small groups alike. The sound of their tiny wings beating all around could barely be heard in spite of their sheer numbers over the gentle breeze that made the branches of the trees sway.
“Oh my goodness! How wonderful!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Aren’t they just beautiful, Discord?”
She looked up at him and he was sweating and his left eye was twitching.
“Discord? Are you all right?”
“Uhhh yes! Yes, I am! I just… didn’t know there would be, um… so many of them!” He gave her a weak smile which didn’t seem to totally convince her.
But then she covered her mouth, stifling a small chuckle. “Oh Discord, you silly draconequus! It’s okay if you’re afraid of butterflies! They can be a little intimidating with all of them swarming like this.”
“What?!” He took to the air, fists clenched and arms ramrod straight. “I’m not… that is-- gah, never mind!” He landed back on the ground, arms crossed as he pouted. “Just… tell me about the butterflies.”
And in the meantime, he told himself, I’ll do my best to keep an eye out for Turing Test. I didn’t think there would be this many of the blasted things!
“Well, there are three species of of butterflies in this migration,” she said, pointing to them in succession. “The orange ones are Monarch butterflies, the black and yellow ones are Swallowtails, and the blue ones are called Blue Morphos.” She heaved a happy sigh. “Oh Discord, they’re all so gorgeous!”
“Yes. Um…” He kept glancing around. “You don’t happen to see any different butterflies here do you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “No. There really should only be those three types. Why?”
“No reason!” he said, eyes shifting left and right.
***
Turing Test was on a flower a few dozen meters away having a discussion with a (comparatively) deep-voiced blue butterfly.
“Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?”
“I do not dream.”
“Oh.” The butterfly cocked his head. “Well, that sort of kills the metaphor.”
“Yes, although your perspective on existence is indeed interesting, Blue Morpheus.”
She scanned the area and saw that Fluttershy and Discord had arrived.
“Ah. Pardon me. I must go.”
“So, that’s a no on the mating?”
Turing ignored him and began flying over to the yellow pegasus and her draconequus companion. She was engrossed in her butterfly watching, so Turing decided to try and fly into her field of view. She heard Discord saying something and Fluttershy’s eyes seemed to light up as she spotted her.
She didn’t seem to recognize Turing either, because she seemed fascinated rather than frightened or annoyed.
She flew low to the ground to stay separate from the other butterflies flying above. “Observe, Fluttershy. I am now a butterfly. Perhaps now you will--”
And then there was a loud croaking sound and a sticky pink mass shot out, ensnaring her, and pulling her into a black pit.
***
“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy said, her hooves going to her cheeks and she cooed in delight. “Look at that one, Discord! It’s so shiny and it has little purple eyes!”
“What?! Where is it?!” He shot forward and looked for it before he finally spotted it. Turing! There you are!
“Oh look! It’s coming this way!” She held out her hoof. “Come here, little butterfly! I won’t hurt you!”
She could have sworn she heard the tiny creature make some sort of sound when suddenly a nearby frog hopped out of its hiding place and snatched the little butterfly out of the air with its tongue before swallowing it whole.
“No!” she shrieked, rushing over to the frog.
“Ribbit?!” the frog croaked defensively.
“Please, Mr. Frog, I know you have to eat, but, well, if you spit that butterfly out, I’ll give you a nice tasty food pellet instead!”
“Ribbit!” the frog said, turning away.
“Oh come on, pleeeease?” she asked, her lower lip quivering.
“R-ribbit!”
“Pretty pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeease?”
The frog sighed. “Ribbit...”
“Oh, thank you, Mr. Frog!”
The frog rolled his eyes and, with a mighty heave, spat Turing Test back out.
Fluttershy passed the frog a food pellet and she swept up Turing Test, still not recognizing her, and cradled her in her forelegs.
System diagnostic: no longer in corrosive environment.
Turing’s eyes adjusted and she saw Fluttershy’s enormous face looking down at her. Turing unfolded her wings and flapped them, clearing the gastric juice that coated them.
“Oh, thank goodness, you’re all right!” Fluttershy hugged Turing to her chest.
From Turing’s perspective, she found it curious that Fluttershy could embrace her so delicately that her wings were undamaged. She sensed the warmth from the much larger body and could hear Fluttershy’s massive thundering heart beating inside her chest.
“Poor little butterfly,” Fluttershy said, breathing a sigh of relief. “You’re safe with me now.”
Discord was also breathing a sigh of relief, but quickly composed himself.
“You know, Fluttershy,” Discord said, leaning down, making a sour face at the butterfly in her embrace, “that little bug doesn’t look like any of these other butterflies. It might be some moth or maybe some sort of parasite.” He made a gagging motion. “It’s ugly too. Maybe I should just smash it and put it out of its misery.” He made to reach for it.
Fluttershy gasped and took to the air, holding the butterfly away from him defensively. “Really, Discord! I would think that you of all creatures would know not to judge by appearances!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yes! Just because you’re a little intimidated by butterflies and just because this one isn’t as cute as the others doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve to be cared for and treated right!”
Discord grinned broadly. “I am so glad to hear you say that, Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy blinked. “Um… okay. Why?”
“Did you, by any chance, take a good close look at that little butterfly you’re holding?”
Fluttershy squinted her eyes and peered down at the little butterfly. When the tip of her muzzle was just in front of it, she finally recognized its face.
“Hello again, Fluttershy,” came Turing’s tiny voice.
“Eek!” Fluttershy squealed, flying over to Discord, hiding behind him for protection.
“What’s the matter, Fluttershy?” Discord asked, his grin spreading from ear to ear.
“Th-that’s not a butterfly!” she hissed.
“No, not really, but does that matter? If you’d known what she was, would you still have let that frog eat her? Or let me squish her?”
Fluttershy stopped cowering. “N-no, of course not!”
“And didn’t you say we shouldn’t judge by appearances?”
“I… yes, I did say that, but sh-sh-she tried to--”
“She tried to make friends with you?” He made an overdramatic gasp. “Oh, how terrifying!”
“Yes! I mean, no! I…”
Discord stared down at her and at last she let him go, setting herself on the ground.
She sighed. “All right. I see your point. Discord, please change her back now.”
“As you wish,” he said, and snapped his fingers.
In a flash, Turing Test stood before them again, back in her original form.
“My apologies for frightening you earlier, Fluttershy,” Turing said. She sat down in the thick grass. “I realize that you are frightened of me. I do not blame you for this, as, after my recent actions, I have considered that fearing me is normal. Even though I did not deserve your kindness, I thank you for saving me.”
She got up and began to walk away.
“W-wait!” Fluttershy cried, holding a hoof out. “Just tell me, please: was it your idea to trick me like this?”
Turing looked back over her shoulder. “No, it was Discord’s idea. He believed it would enable us to make friends. Though I do not agree with his method, I am grateful to him as a friend for attempting to assist me.”
“You two are… friends?” She looked back at Discord.
“Oh, most certainly!” Discord said, flashing over to Turing and picking her up, holding her in one arm. “We’re chums, pals, compadrebots!”
Fluttershy swallowed. “I… I think, even though it was really irresponsible and mean,” she said, glaring up at him, “that, well… you were right. I was being unfair.”
She managed a smile and looked over at Turing. “O-okay, Turing Test. Let’s try to become friends. You can come over tomorrow and help me with my animals. Um, if that’s okay with you, of course.”
Discord set Turing Test down. The mechanical mare slowly approached Fluttershy, careful not to frighten her, and then gingerly extended her hoof.
“Your proposal is acceptable.”
Fluttershy looked down at the hoof and extended her own, finally tapping it ever so slightly. She let out a deep breath and let the tension drain from her body. She then took Turing’s hoof properly and shook it.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
To be continued...
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JOHN DE LANCIE IS BEST PONY
Hahaha.
I had a broad smile on my face when Discord tricked Fluttershy. Nice to see him being both chaotic and helpful at the same time .
Also , Curse you author ! I will never be able to look at butterflies again without hearing them saying "You dawg whassup ?" In my head.
Alright, you really surprised me - Discord and Turing Test's interactions worked really well!
The fact that Discord got somewhat menacing when asking why Fluttershy was scared of Turing was a nice touch.
And I admit - I didn't see Discord turning Turing into a Robotterfly coming! (Nice drawing by the artist by way - I hope that Discord kept picture of Turing's alternate form!). But it was a good way to make Fluttershy realize about how she was treating Turing.
Let's hope that the reunion works out!
And congratulations on the TVTropes page!
A butterfly who doesn't know the difference between the real world and a dream ? That's got to be a reference to Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi
Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things.
I was thinking Discord would take an instant shine to Turing , she's slowly learning to break her robotic purely logical personality and world view, and become a much more real, more chaotic pony. Discord can really help her!
Next up lessons in lying, cheating, being unpleasant cruel and sarcastic; It's all part of a rounded personality. She's only good if she knows what it is to be a jerk and has the choice not to do it right ?
And just when I though that Turing couldn't be cuter... here comes Iron Butterfly
"I need blue pages"
And I need oxygen, but nether of us are getting what we need at the moment Discord, so I'll get back to you once I've regained the ability to breathe
Yeah.
Like this?
)
(Though in this case this version or this version my be more appropriate...
It's actually quite amusing to me that you referenced Portal, because of two things-
I was listening to Portal music while reading this.
I imagine Turing to sound like GLaDOS.
Turing during this arc
Nice. :)
Now that's nice, it's glad to see that they-
HAHYAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! How does that SLAP in the face feel AH?! How does it feel that Discord had to teach YOU a lesson in Kindness ah, HOW DOES IT FUCKING FEEL AH?!
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!
...
Ha,
Anyway, that little debacle is over and done with, we can move on.
Here we have... Zecora's lesson, basically, don't judge by appearances or first impressions.
... You had to learn that twice for it to sink in hmm -_-.
Whatever.
Also... Butterflies are a bunch of horny, live-till-you-die perpetual teenage cold ass guys?
Man, I wish I went to this Butterfly Migration with Discord, that would have been fun to watch...
Unless I'm a female butterfly, that would be hell.
And I LOVED the GLADos reference, don't know the others too well but this is awesome!
Onward, to... wait, did Turing manage to get by her problem with inflicting violence yet?
Alright... still stuck on that.
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Yeah! That makes me sound smarter! That's totally what happened!
In truth, I couldn't remember if the Machine That Goes Ping was the same as the Most Expensive Machine in the Hospital or if it was on loan from the next hospital over in the Monty Python birth sketch from the Meaning of Life.
Though that sketch itself probably satires the doctors not knowing the machines in real life, so technically, by proxy, I did do what you said.
This shows us the truth: True Kindness Is Chaotic
There is no chair for Discord in the Council of Friendship, because Discord is the true Element Bearer of Kindness.
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Fluttershy does her best to forget scary events ASAP, suppressing the lessons that came with them, by forcefully following old habits for comfort. Her entire personality is an act of vigilant willpower bent upon the self.
She's evolved from doormat to wallpaper.
Poor Turning will never experience the joys of mating... With Butterflies.
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Urg...
ELEMENT of KINDNESS everybody! She's the sweetest girl around and is kind to everybody! Until of course your not an animal and scary or a dragon, in which case, screw you!
Oh man, I loved the Mega Man ref, I was kinda hoping for a Short Circuit ref, Turing shouting "Johhny 5 is Alive!" would be hysterical
Time for the comment round-up! Saddle-up, pardners!
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Yes. Yes he is.
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/e/ef/Discord_dressed_as_an_alicorn_ID_S4E25.png/revision/20150604232228
Seems a lot of you enjoyed the humor and Discord's antics in this one. I'm pretty happy about that and was looking forward to Discord finally featuring in the story, as he's my favorite supporting character and one of the reasons I finally checked the show out.
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I will freely admit that the idea of thug, frat-boy, and redneck butterflies was included for no other reason than I thought it would be funny. That actually explains a lot of this chapter. Including the fact that Schmetterlingo's name used to be something a little more risque, but I decided I was already pushing things towards the offensive. But you can use your imagination.
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Arrrgghh, I wish I had made that connection! Actually, as a student of Taoism, I am familiar with Zhuangzi, but somehow that didn't occur to me and now I'm not kicking myself for working that angle in there.
Funny clip, by the way. I might have to check out Red Dwarf.
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Colby did a great job on that drawing, didn't he? And actually on pretty short notice. Unfortunately, right after he finished it, his hard drive on his computer blew up. That might well mean a delay in illustrations, but I'm more concerned that he might have lost a few pieces he didn't have a chance to back up. None related to the story, per se, but still. Bummer.
6422029 You know, I forgot to point out the Iron Butterfly reference in the Notes until you said something. Thanks for that and also thanks for the tunes! For those of you not sure what I'm talking about, DiscoPanda here linked 3 versions of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. You can check 'em out here and here and here.
But man, all this talk about butterflies makes me think of another song...
And now, my own personal kryptonite... REFERENCES!
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I really wasn't sure ANYONE would get the Myst reference. I am pleasantly surprised.
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Somehow I imagine you're not the only one to think that. In my head, of course, she sounds different, but it's not like she has an official voice actress.
...Yet
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No joke, I almost had her say "YOUR - MOTHER - WAS - A - SNOWBLOWER." But then I realized Equestria doesn't have snowblowers and that made me overthink it to the point where I thought it wasn't funny anymore. Well, in case anyone reading this doesn't get the incredibly Narmy thing that was referenced:
Now on to the big X-Factor in this arc: Fluttershy!
Thoughts, PoisonJoker?
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That's not--
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Hooboy, gonna need to write myself out of this one...
Nah, seriously, glad to see the strong reactions. I was expecting them.
Still, keeping with this topic, perhaps a little hint of what's to come next time...
What is the one thing Fluttershy really hates?
i.imgur.com/zcBpF.png
Thanks for all the great comments everyone! They really make writing this story even more rewarding.
Wow, friends with Discord and Fluttershy on the same day???? GO TURING!!!!! I do think Discord should help her with her eyes or mouth so she can express her mood better.
Hmmm, next up from Twilight's friends in Applejack, that will be interesting. Can we see Turning interact with the CMC again before that????
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That reminds me, next time I go home on break I should dig out my disc for Jet Grind Radio and some of my other games and bring them back with me...
6426199 Oh she's friends with Discord, all right. Fluttershy, on the other hoof... well, we'll see.
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Brilliant... with that little hint, I expect her having to redo the Hurricane Fluttershy and Filli Vanilli lesson, AGAIN.
Well. Turing is now friends with the spitot of chaos. Wh know what will happen with these two? Maybe...EYELIDS!
6427457 Heh. I suppose you'll have to wait until next chapter to see what I mean. Still, trust me when I say this isn't just an excuse to dump on Fluttershy for the sake of making my own character look better. I hope you enjoy, PJ! I'd hate to disappoint one of my long-time (and most chatty) readers.
BWAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAH.
Oh man, that came out of left field. Well played.
I think I enjoyed the ghetto butterflies more than I should have.^^
I like how Turing's character trait of seeing the world in and black and white and following the rules is being used against her by herself. She is so intent on seeing that she used her new found freedom to hurt other ponies that she fails to look at the situation in a different way. To me, Turing's first action was not about hurting others, it was sacrificing herself so that her friends would be safe. Even when she was fighting Grace and Glory she was doing it under the assumption that she would be destroyed afterwards. Plus, she only fought them as a last resort; she wanted to give herself up first in exchange for her friends being restored to their former selves.
The scene with Discord was very well done; I had a feeling they would get along pretty quickly. In my opinion, they are in a similar situation since very few ponies trust them and they are both being taught how to make friends and use their abilities for the benefit of others. I don't know how close Turing and Discord will be in this story, but I just feel like they should be talking to each other about how ponies treat them every now and then.
The butterfly thing was completely unexpected (classic Discord). I also did not expect that the butterflies would talk in such a manner, which made that scene very funny. It also brought up yet another concept for Turing to think about, the possibility of finding romantic love. That, along with the concepts of Turing having a soul and finding out if she can dream, are things that may or may not be explored in the future. However, I do see Turing bringing these up as she learns more about herself and what she is capable of emotionally.
I have to say that I was unsure of how I felt about Fluttershy still being afraid of Turing Test after all this time. I kept thinking that, while it was understandable that she would be unsure about Turing, she should still have the courage to give her a chance. After all, she gave Discord a chance and he changed her into the opposite of herself and spread chaos throughout Equestria. Heck even Celestia is having a change of heart toward Turing. However, it made more and more sense that she would still be scared as I thought about it. Turing is the only one of her kind so far, which means she is as alien to the ponies as they are to her. Most people/ponies fear what they do not understand. The reason why Fluttershy gave Discord more of a chance than Turing is because she knew that Discord was a living being that had emotions just like every other being out there. These are things that Fluttershy is most familiar with and therefore is able to feel comfortable around another being once she works past her shy trait. The problem that Fluttershy has with Turing Test is that she is unsure whether or not to classify Turing as a living being and is definitely unsure as to whether or not Turing really has emotions. If you mix that with Fluttershy's shy trait and her other character trait of wanting to feel safe, then it makes perfect sense that Fluttershy would still be afraid of Turing Test. Plus, Fluttershy has done this before; she was scared of Luna when she was experiencing her first Nightmare Night even though she was there when she and her friends broke Luna out of her Nightmare Moon form and she was scared of Zecora whenever she came into town. However, both those stiutations were due to the fact that it is hard for some people to change their beliefs about something or someone. This is especially true if one has held those beliefs for so long, which is also something that is happening to Turing due to all the fictional information about robots.
This last bit is a reaction to some of the comments that talk about Fluttershy not being as kind as she should be. The great thing about the Mane 6, at least to me, is that they are not fully defined by the Elements that they represent; this is something that I have to remind myself of as well. Ever since the show first aired I have always felt that the Mane 6 merely show or act on their elements more that other ponies instead of being made to express them 100% of the time. To clarify, Applejack is less likely to lie or cheat than other ponies are and Fluttershy is more likely to show kindness than most other ponies. This does not mean that they can't lie or not show kindness. Each of the Mane 6 have their limits when it comes to expressing their Element and there are times when they reach those limits. This is what makes them, and many other of the MLP characters feel so alive.
Well, that is all I have to say for now. Keep up the great work Hat Man!!!
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THIS! You hit the nail on Turing's situation. I think that Fluttershy will help Turing to realise that, or at last start to do so.
But I think that would be interesting to help the interactions between Turing and the ponies, somepony that actually ask Turing how to decide to act and think the way she does. For example, after the infamous negative response to the "Do you like me?" question, somepony should ask Turing how she arrived to that answer - the irony is that Bon Bon was the only one so far that did it! (Theory: Turing was trying objectively determine that, but since it was a subjective state, and she is still very new at such situation, she could not determine it as a positive, so she answered as negative.)
At first, I thought that Zecora or Dr. Talon Turing could act like a "robopsychologist" (between quoting signs due the fact that no one had such experience), but now I think that Cadance could do it: she worked as a foalsister, so she have experience dealing with growing-up minds of the foals that she cared for (and that was Turing is - a child that is growing up). And if we admit that she took care of neuroatypical foals, she could to be in a better position to analyse Turing's mind than Twilight and Gadget.
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Quite so! Indeed, considerably later in the story, you just might see why Twilight's plan may not have been her brightest of ideas.
Thanks for reading and for commenting!
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I think you know the answer to that.
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...I'm so sorry. Sort of.
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Hey there, I know that it has been a little while since you both made your comments, but I wanted to thank you as usual for the thoughtful analysis and consideration. New chapter's about to go up, but you both deserve a little response for taking the time to comment in such detail.
This pretty well sums up my mentality when characterizing Fluttershy. She is more assertive now than she used to be, certainly, but she has her limitations. I think a lot of other readers forget just how different Turing Test is and how antithetical to Flutters she is: she stares all the time, she's unnatural (whereas Fluttershy loves nature), and she speaks plainly without any of the gentleness or social graces Fluttershy expects.
All of these are things she'll confront in the next chapter, of course.
The idea of her needing a "robopsychologist" is an interesting one to be sure. But rather than just one individual helping with her problems, I tend to think in terms of her getting help from various other friends and in turn them learning something from her. Still, I will say that there are things to learn from others in the future... including some of the characters you mentioned.
... Once when I was looking through a closet I found a few discs. One was a point-and-click adventure game called "The Crystal Key", the other was "Myst". I asked my Dad about them and he told me that they where the only video games he owned. We barely got The Crystal Key working on our WIndows 98, but the game Myst was for Mac.
We may still have the disks, but Myst is so old that the Mac's today wouldn't be able to run it...
I...
I've read about Myst, and I although I don't think I would enjoy playing it, it seemed like a good game.
Discord, shape shifting, Butterflies from da Hood, stoner/ultimate badass Butterflies, and references out the robodonkadonk. Hell of a chapter.
i'm a trekkie! are you a trekkie too?
Shouldn't it have been 'Amigo 500' as a Discordian pun?
6467657 he probably spoke in jest, but turing learning and experiencing physical intimacy would be very interesting. Of corse as a technophile I already find her outrageously sexy but I'm totally not planing to ask permission to commission fluff of her an twilight doing some less then wholesome experiments.
Hmm. Best guess for her emotional state: shame.
I got this reference <3
My first computer was an AMIGA, I don't think it was a 500 sadly but that was... WAYYY back when.
And any Q references for Discords character are a pure win. I love John de Lancie in both roles.
I FOUND THE PORTAL REFRANCE!
Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
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I got the take on me reference
Butterflies from da hood with a reference acknowledging the snail life from Turbo and a blue morphos counterpart of Morphus from the Matrix who clearly ate more than a small blue pill, and other small references here and there. I have never laughed so hard before from reading a chapter.
portal
Toy story (buzz lightyear)
Ganster butterflies.
*comes to the pic*
that is too cute and hilarious!
Hmm Discord is being slightly serious here.
Am I high right now?
Morpheus, Dorpheus, Orpheus
Go eat some walruses
Orifices, Porridges
Morpheus, Morpheus
Going to the Buffet and Walruses
Confidence, Corpseses
Worcestershire sauce
Go into your orifices
Red pill, blue pill Morpheus,
Walruses Seashells by the Seashorpheus
Morpheus drinking a forty in a death basket!
Not 'Amigo 500'? That way he's calling her both a friend and referencing the Amiga 500.
For being the god of chaos you have become a really crappy liar discord
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Lying well is a matter of feeling no guilt. Fluttershy is probably the only pony he can't lie well too.
. . . Why do I have this striking image of a butterfly in lederhosen