Minds over Machines

by Sputnikmann

Chapter 2: An Old Acquaintance

Twilight and Derpy were in awe from the interior of the building. Indeed, from the outside, it appeared to be just a normal cottage, with a barbed wire fence surrounding it, but inside; it was an entirely different story.

The interiors of most Ponyville cottages, the one obvious exception being Doctor Whooves' laboratory of a residence, generally was simple, like one would expect from a wood-and-stone house with a thatch roof. This house was the complete opposite. The walls were lined with desks, which had a multitude of different devices and contraptions lying on them. The ceiling had wires and cables taped and bolted to it, a strong current no doubt running through each of them. It was even difficult to walk, due to the loose pieces of metal and spare wires lying aimlessly on the carpeted floor.

"You'll have to forgive the mess." said the metal being. "I have been assisting my Master with his latest experiment. Now that the parts he ordered are here, he can get started on his other projects and I can start cleaning everything."

"What's your master been working on?" asked Derpy.

"Well, he had a theory regarding time travel." he explained. "That having time come forward to you would be more energy efficient than the reverse."

"Uh, I've actually already time travelled." Twilight said. "The spell scroll is in Canterlot, and easy enough as long as you follow it to the letter."

"That's a tad unfortunate." he said. "Well, that was his backup project either way, I doubt he will feel that bad about that one."

Derpy floated off, having grown bored of magic-speak, and moved into one of the rooms that the hallway led to. Inside was about the same as the hallway; wires coming from the ground and hanging from the ceiling, pieces of strange equipment lazily cast on the floor. But the one thing that stood out was a large glass tube in the center of the room, stretching from floor to ceiling, numerous wires connected to the metal bases at the top and bottom. Behind the glass was a large jewel, energies of ever-changing color shimmering on the surface, floating in mid air in the middle of the tube.

"What's this?" she called. She pressed her face to the glass, giggling at the tingling sensation streaking through her body.

Twilight and their escort walked into the room; Twilight gazing at the jewel in awe, the escort politely removing Derpy's face from the glass. "That is the source of this facility's power." he said, placing Derpy on the floor. "It is a very rare gemstone that only develops under very specific circumstances, so you could imagine why I would rather you not touch it or its container."

"Why?" Derpy asked. "What harm could it do?"

"To the Jewel?" the escort asked. "Nothing. It is stronger than anything ponies could create or re-enforce. To you? There are many side effects to prolonged exposure to the gemstone's radiation."

"Like what?" asked Twilight, ripping her attention away from the jewel.

"Come, let us continue our walk to my Master; I'll explain on the way." the creature said, starting to walk down the hallway again.. "As you may know, all ponies have magic inside them, but each tribe accesses their magic slightly differently. Unicorns have active magic, which is channeled through their horn. Earth Ponies have static magic that connects them to their namesake. Pegasai have a different static magic that connects them to the sky and weather."

"Yes, I know." Twilight said. "That's primary school knowledge."

"Well, imagine an airtight container, then continuously fill it with air." He said. "What happens to that container, will happen to a pony, should you prolong your exposure to its rays, only with magical energy instead of compressed air."

Derpy swallowed audibly. "Twilight." she said. "Can we maybe never go into that room again?"

Twilight nodded all to enthusiastically. "Sure." she said. "I think that's a plan."

---

After that, they walked in silence, occasionally stopping when either they saw something of particular interest or when Derpy hit her head or tripped. Winding down corridors that didn't seem to make sense, taking four right turns in a row at some point, entering hallways that didn't seem to exist until they neared, exploring the impossibility that the cottage was bigger on the inside.

Eventually, they came to a door, which was strange. With the obvious exception being bathrooms, there had been no doors. As a self-titled mare of science herself, Twilight knew this was to reduce the change of both uninvited interruptions and reduce the risk of slamming to doors if and when something important happened. And even the bathroom doors were styled after Ponyville's rustic style.

But this door was massive, easily three times the height of a normal pony, maybe twice as tall as Big MacIntosh, and was made of a solid white metal. A small box made of a similar material was mounted on the wall to the right of the door, an inactive red light above it. No handle was present, with seemingly no way to get through.

The duo's escort opened the box, revealing a small keyboard and a microphone. "Robert." he spoke into the mic. "Model BMP-ECJAIP. Requesting access to Main Laboratory."

The light above the door glowed brightly, and a small wave of light went down Robert's body, then up again, before disappearing and the light switching off again. <Welcome, Model BMP-ECJAIP.> a female, but oddly monotone voice said. <Please enter the passcode.>

Using the keyboard beside the Mic, Robert pressed a series of numbers in rapid succession. Twilight quickly memorized the code, just in case. '16, 9, 22, 11, 7, 21, 20, 3, 11, 10, 13, 16, 25.' she noted. 'Strange.'

After a few seconds, the light above the door switched to green and the door slid open on its own. <Welcome home, Damian.> the female voice said, a more sentient tone gracing her voice. <The master is currently on the computer.>

"Thank you Christina." Robert said. "Could you prepare some some refreshments? We have guests."

<Of course.> Christina said. <Do our guests have a preference?>

"I'll have some Jasmine Tea please." Twilight said. "My friend can have anything that doesn't have sugar in it."

<I'll get straight on it.> Christina said.

"Cancel that order, Christina." came a colts' voice, calling from the other side of the room. "They're going home."

Robert sighed. He looked to Twilight and Derpy. "Wait here." he said. "My Master can be very stubborn at times. Christina, make their drinks."

Derpy nodded and sat down, completely ignoring the crunch of a unknown device being flattened underneath her weight. Twilight did the same, but deep in thought. 'I know that voice...' she thought. 'But from where? From who?'

After a few minutes of Derpy fiddling with her mane and Twilight staying in her trance-like thought processing, Robert eventually came back. Without saying a word, he motioned them to follow. Derpy got up immediately, but had to physically yank Twilight up to break her trance. They followed Robert through an insane maze of wires and parts, the darkness shrouding the Lab not helping in the slightest.

Eventually they came to an opening in the mess of parts, a light conveniently banishing the darkness away in this spot. In the center of the clearing was a table, a set of chairs surrounding it. "Please, sit." Robert said. "My master is not used to guests... or other ponies for that matter. He'll be with you shortly."

"So..."Twilight said, sitting on the uncomfortable wooden. "What's your master's name?"

"Processor." said the colt's voice again, as a pony's silhouette became visible in the shadows. "Central Processor. The one, true scientist in all of Equestria."

'Central Processor...' Twilight thought. 'That sounds familiar.'

The pony stepped into the light, revealing a brown-coated stallion; probably about her age, with a black mop of a mane. He lifted the reflective goggles that he was wearing on his face, revealing a case of Heterochromia Iridum; one eye being brown, the other being a green-ish hazel. He wore a white lab coat on his body, much of it covered in black-ish brown filth.

"Wait a minute." Processor said, his gaze meeting Twilight's. He walked around the table and inspected Twilight. "Color's the same, mane and tail's the same..." he pulled a small handheld device from inside his coat and raised it to her horn. "Magical frequency's the same." He moved to her wings. "Those are new."

Derpy looked at Processor, then back to Twilight. "Do you know him?" she asked Twilight.

"I don't know." Twilight said. "I think so."

Central put a hoof to his chest. "Oh I'm hurt, Twilight." he said, his voice dripping with feign sadness. "You don't remember me? I thought we were friends." He looked up and gave a cheeky smile, which faded with Twilight's blank expression. "Seriously? You actually don't remember me?"

Twilight gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, sir." she said. "You must've mistaken me for somepony else."

Central facehoofed. "I can't believe it." he said. "It's me, Central Processor! Your old lab partner from Canterlot." Twilight's eyes widened. She beamed and wrapped her hooves around Central. "It's good to see you still remember me, Twily." he said. "But I still need air."

"What are you doing here?" Twilight said, letting the stallion breath. "I haven't seen you since before I left for Ponyville!"

"So you do know him?" Derpy asked again. "It sure seems that way."

Twilight mentally smacked herself. "Right." she said. She gestured to Central. "Derpy, this is Central Processor; an old acquaintance from when I lived in Canterlot."

"Charmed, I'm sure." Central said.

Twilight gestured to Derpy. "Central, this is Ditzy 'Derpy' Doo, the Mail Mare from Ponyville."

"Nice to meet you!" Derpy said with her signature smile. "It's not everyday I get to meet somepony new... that isn't trying to take over Equestria anyway."

Central laughed loudly, his eyes watering from the outburst. "Taking... over..." he said in between laughs. "Oh, that's a good one." He looked to the two mares, whom were looking at each other with awkward smiles on their faces. "What? It was a funny joke."

"How long have you been here?" Twilight asked. "Alone in this lab?"

"About three years." Central answered nonchalantly. "Why?"

"I wasn't joking." Derpy said. "Since the previous Summer Sun Celebration, about a year ago I think, we've had several threats to Equestria's safety, and some to others."

"Really?" Central asked. "I hadn't heard. Who was attacking?"

Twilight cleared her throat and made a long sheet of paper materialize in front of her. "Well..." Twilight started. "First there was Nightmare Moon on the Summer Sun Celebration; she's good now, ruling with Celestia as Princess Luna. Then Discord attacked; also good, living with either me or my friends. Then the Changeling Queen; apparently named 'Chrysalis', attacked. Not sure what happened to her; she was kind of shot into the distance by a love-fueled shield. Then King Sombra attempted to re-take the Crystal Empire. He's... been disposed of. Then a pony named Sunset Shimmer attempted to use an alternate version of Equestria's citizens to take over this version; also good, but still in the alternate world. Then Lord Tirek escaped from Tartarus and attempted to steal Equestrian Magic; he's back in his cell. Then most recently, a pony named Starlight Glimmer attempted to brainwash me and my friends into joining her 'Equalists'. She probably would've gone onto the rest of Equestria, but we stopped her."

Twilight looked up from her list, seeing Derpy and Central's dumbfounded expressions. The latter chuckled quietly. "Well, good to know you haven't changed a lot."

"Did you really keep an entire list of the recent threats?" Derpy asked.

"I've been trying to figure out why they've only been escaping now." Twilight said, shrugging. "You can't blame me, can you? It is kind of strange."

Central tapped his chin. "Strange in deed..." he said to himself.

---

After dabbing a few rather uninteresting miscellaneous conversations, and his guests' drinks finally being delivered and drank, Central straightened his lab coat's collar. "So, back to business." he said. "What brings you to my little workshop?"

"They brought your package, sir." said Robert, who strode out from the shadows. "I've already unpacked and ordered the parts by your orders."

"Thank you, Robert." Central said. After a few moments of quiet, he cleared his throat to break the silence. "Well, it's was nice meeting you, Miss Doo. And Twilight; it really has been lovely catching up; but I have work to do, things to invent, chemical elements to discover."

"Okey doke!" Derpy said. "I'll see you later, Central!"

Central chuckled. "I doubt it, but keep thinking that." he said. He raised Twilight's hoof and kissed it. "Milady." he said jokingly. "'Tis been a pleasure. I hope to see you again."

Twilight blushed slightly at the childish joke, but smiled at his humor. "Well, you could come with me, you know." she said. "There's a scientist in Ponyville who would love to meet you, and you could stay at my Castle if you want."

Central's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "You have a CASTLE now?" he asked. "Wasn't that tower in Canterlot enough?"

Twilight laughed. "I promise I'll explain everything if you come with me." she offered.

"Ehh... I'd love to, really I would." Central said. "But I need to maintain my equipment. Much of what's in this room is very unstable and needs to be properly maintained."

"Do not fret, sir." Robert called from across the room. "I shall see to it that the Laboratory stays spotless."

Central smiled. "Then I guess I'll go." he said. "Thank you, Robert."

Author's Note:

This took WAY longer than it needed to.

Also, the key is Memories. Can't do anything without 'em.