Meet Tik Tok
The Clockwork Pony
Chapter 2: Meet Tik Tok
The only sound that filled the throne room was the steady ticking from within the mechanical pony. The others had all been stunned back into silence after her barrage of questions. Slowly, though, the edges of Twilight’s agape mouth began to pull back into an excited smile. A sense of accomplishment and wonder replaced her stunned feeling and her eyes brightened at what this revelation truly meant.
“Ha! I told you she was alive!” she shouted triumphantly and pointed a hoof a Rainbow.
“I...never said she wasn’t!” the blue Pegasus countered.
“But you didn’t believe me either! But now look who’s laughing! Ha!” Twilight laughed again before she flew over to her creation.
“You know, sometimes I wonder why I date her,” Rainbow muttered to Applejack.
“Join the club,” Applejack whispered back.
They both shared a chuckle at their marefriends’ expenses before heading over to the clockwork pony with the others. Although they could only get so close as Twilight bounced around the mechanical mare swiftly enough to give Pinkie a run for her bits. The purple princess poked gently at the connection points to each limb. She stared in amazement that her lightbulb eyes shined even brighter now that they were filled with the spark of life. Her head moved up and down as it examined every inch of the metal body she had created to make sure everything was working properly. Through it all a myriad of questions flowed through her mind which she was not shy about voicing aloud.
“How do you feel? Can you feel? Do you feel physically or just emotionally? What all do you know? Obviously you know how to talk but what else do you know? History? Stories? Do you have a sense of self identity?” Twilight rambled as she continued her inspection.
“I..don’t know,” the mechanized mare replied unsurely. “This is...all so new to me? First I wasn’t...then I was.”
“What the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked, scratching her temple just under her hat.
“Seems she’s the philosophical type,” Rarity pointed out.
“Well wouldn’t you be if you just came to life as a fully sentient being?” Twilight asked in a tone of beaming pride.
“I know what I’d want to do!” Pinkie exclaimed as she suddenly popped up between Twilight and her creation. “I’d want to know everypony’s name! Mine’s Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?”
A series of whirling clicks sounded out as the newborn mare looked down at the pink hoof extended towards her.
“I...don’t know,” she answered Pinkie’s question unsurely before looking back at Twilight. “Mother, what is my name?”
“‘Mother’?!” Twilight repeated back in shock.
“Pfft! ‘Mother’,” Rainbow chortled in amusement at Twilight’s expression.
“Wouldn’t that make you the step-mom?” Applejack teased her.
Rainbow Dash let out a surprised squeak of her own before her expression quickly matched Twilight’s. Thankfully Twilight overcame her shock rather quickly and she tried to answer the mare’s question.
“Um...well...I hadn’t actually thought of that yet,” she sighed, tapping her front hooves together in embarrassment.
“Oh,” the clockwork pony replied in a disappointed tone and lowered her head.
“Then we’ll just have to give you one!” Pinkie said cheerfully. She then brought a hoof to her chin as she now examined the new pony. “Now let’s see...hmm...”
The room grew quiet again as everypony allowed Pinkie to collect her thoughts while they themselves mused over some names. The only sound that could be heard as the steady ticking of the metal mare’s gear driven heart. There was a strange soothing quality to its rhythmic beat that Pinkie couldn’t help but find comforting. So much so that she inadvertently started to sway her head in time to it. As she rocked her head the gears in her own head started to turn until her eyes lit up with an almost audible “ding”.
“That’s it! We’ll call you Tik Tok! And we’ll spell it ‘T-I-K T-O-K’ but cause poor literacy is kewl! Spelled K-E-W-L!” Pinkie declared happily.
“Honestly Pinkie, where do you even come up with these things?” Rarity asked offhoovedly.
“Eh, they just come to me,” she shrugged.
“Well regardless of that I’m sure she’s not gonna want to be named-” Twilight started to dismiss the idea when she was cut off by her creation.
“I like it!” the newly dubbed Tik Tok exclaimed happily.
“Or what do I know,” the alicorn muttered.
“You don’t approve of my name mother?” she asked.
Again Twilight couldn’t help but flinch not only at the title but at appearing disapproving of her first decision.
“No, no it’s fine. As long as you like it,” she reassured her.
“I do!” Tik Tok beamed as her eyes shuttered closed for a second.
No doubt that if she was able to smile she would be wearing a wide one right now. As it was she simply clapped her brass hooves together gleefully which produced a slight clanging sound.
“And now that you have a name we can properly introduce you to everypony!” Pinkie cheered as she slid up to Tik Tok. “Like I said, my name’s Pinkie Pie! And of course you know Twilight!” she remarked as she pointed a hoof to the princess just before it moved to the blue Pegasus by her side. “Next to her is Rainbow Dash. They’re marefriends so I’m sure you’ll be seeing her a lot.”
“Pinkie!” they both shouted with slight blushes on their faces.
The pink party pony ignored them as she turn hers, and Tik Tok’s, attention to the orange earth pony and white unicorn directly in front of them.
“And those are two are Applejack and Rarity. They’re also marefriends,” she explained then crooked her mouth to the side. “Wow that happens a lot in our group.”
“Is that significant?” Tik Tok asked.
“Nah just weird!” Pinkie shrugged.
“Hey!” all four mares protested.
“And over by that table is Flut-” Pinkie started again but then suddenly stopped when she saw Fluttershy standing right in front of her. “Oh. I guess she’s over here now. That’s pretty sneaky Fluttershy!”
“I didn’t mean to be sneaky,” the yellow Pegasus said sheepishly. “I just wanted to come over to say ‘Hi’ and... “Sorry.”
Tik Tok tilted her head in confusion.
“For what?” she asked.
“Because I was scared of you when you first walked in,” Fluttershy explained, her own head turned slightly away in shame. “Actually I’m scared of a lot of things and I’m still working on that. But I was afraid of you because you were different and I realized that I was judging you on that difference instead of the pony you might be. It was an awful snap decision and I’m sorry about that.”
“Oh. Well there’s not need to be sorry for that. I’m aware enough to know that I’m...different and it would be quite surprising,” Tik Tok told her. “So I take no offensive to your initial shock.”
Fluttershy let out a relieved sigh then smiled brightly. “Then it’s nice to meet you Tik Tok.”
“You too Fluttershy,” she replied brightly.
“Huh,” Rainbow Dash mused.
“What?” Applejack asked.
“Just usually we have to go through a whole bunch of wacky hijinks and misunderstandings before something like that happened,” she noted then smiled and walked proudly over to Fluttershy. “Guess that means our little Fluttershy is finally starting to grow up!”
She emphasized her pride by given the timid mare a soft noogie. Though she was trying to be as gentle as she could, Fluttershy still shrunk down with a pained look on her face.
“Ow. Ow. Ow. Please stop,” she pleaded quietly.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed huff but did as requested.
“Well whether she meant to or not Fluttershy brought up a good point,” Twilight spoke up then immediately started to scratch the back of her head nervously as an embarrassed looked came over her face. “And something I didn’t really think about,” she admitted. “A lot of ponies might a little...skittish around you at first Tik Tok. So we should probably work on a way to introduce you to the town gradually so they don’t...um...”
“Freak out?” Rainbow offered.
“Which would cause a mass panic,” Applejack added.
“Which in turn would lead to many homes and store fronts getting ruined,” Rarity continued.
“Then that would make everypony mad and angry with each other,” Fluttershy noted.
“And it would all have to be wrapped up with big speech about tolerance and acceptance!” Pinkie Pie concluded cheerfully.
Twilight blinked as her mouth hung open.
“Yeah...something like that,” she said with a lopsided grin.
“Thus is the story of our lives,” Spike said from behind the group.
“Oh Spike! When did you get here?!” Pinkie asked, feeling a bit bad she didn’t get to introduce the young dragon to their new friend.
“I’ve been here for ten minutes,” he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You just seemed to have forgotten about me in all the excitement.”
“Oh. Sorry!” the pink mare said quickly.
“Nah it’s fine. Kinda gotten used to it by now,” Spike waved off as he walked up to Tic Tok and extended a claw. “Hi! I’m Spike the Dragon, Twilight’s number one assistant!”
Tic Tok looked quizzically at the outstretched appendage then slowly raised her left hoof towards it. Spike grabbed her hoof and shook it up and down to complete the gesture. When it was over the metal mare looked at her shiny hoof in confused amazement. As she continued to look into its reflective surface she noted something else different from herself and the other ponies around her.
“I may know something that may help me fit in,” she spoke up.
“Oh? What is it?” Twilight asked, took a step closer to her.
“This,” she replied and gave Twilight’s bangs a quick flick.
“My...mane?” the princess asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Tik Tok nodded. “I would like a...mane. And...” she seemed to look behind Twilight.
“A tail,” she answered the unspoken question with a soft swish of her tail for emphasis.
“Yes. I believe both of those things would help me look like a normal pony. Plus...” she hesitated for a moment seemed to lower her head just a bit as if she were embarrassed, “yours all look so pretty and I would like to look that way too.”
The six mares all chuckled and looked a little embarrassed themselves by the unexpected compliment.
“Well I suppose I could find you a decent enough wig,” Twilight mused as she tapped her chin with a hoof. “And probably a fake tail. But I’d have to remodel your cranial and back plates to accommodate them.”
“I’ve got it!” Rarity shouted suddenly, causing them all to jump in surprise.
When they all recovered from the shock they all gave her rather irritated glared.
“Sorry,” she said with a nervous laugh. “But I believe I have the solution to her mane problem. While it won’t be a traditional wig or tail extension, I do have the most lovely golden thread in my shop that would go well with your...unique complication dear. I can fashion for you the most wondrous mane and tail the world has ever seen!”
“Going a bit big on the sale there Rares,” Applejack warned her.
“Oh shush! I’m in my zone!” Rarity called out dramatically.
“I would like that very much!” Tik Tok said enthusiastically.
“Then it’s settled,” Twilight spoke up. “Rarity if you don’t mind working on those today I can go ahead and start adjusting Tik Tok’s body to fit them.”
“It would be my pleasure darling,” the white unicorn smiled before she trotted out of the room.
“Ah should probably go with her to make sure she stays on task. Never know when some new bit of inspiration might hit her,” Applejack said just before she followed after her marefriend.
“Right. While they’re working on that I can go back to my lab and start my part. Though there is just one small thing I have to do first,” Twilight noted with a bright, beaming smile on her face.
( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
In a world far removed from Equestria, another Twilight sat in the impressively sized library of Canterlot High and focused on her studies. Next to her sat the fiery haired Sunset Shimmer who was also wrapped up in her own works. Though they were both heavily involved in their own assignments, they had pushed their chairs close together so that at least their hips touched at the moment and so they could lean against each other should they feel so inclined. Although they had to be careful about getting too close since they were being watched now after the “librarian” incident a couple of weeks ago. Still even without trying that again they could enjoy each other’s company even if they were each in their own little world of studying.
Worlds which they were brought out of by a slight buzzing coming from Sunset’s backpack. Knowing her phone was in her pocket there was only one other thing it could be. Her suspicions were confirmed when her eyes were met with a bright glow once she undid the zipper. She quickly pulled her journal and flipped it to the last page.
“Is that a new message from Princess Twilight?” Twilight asked and leaned a bit closer to Sunset.
“Seems like,” she replied.
As she scanned the short, somewhat cryptic message she frowned and looked up at the Twilight sitting next to her.
“So what’s she say?” the purple girl asked, pushing her glasses back up on her nose.
“She wrote, ‘I’ve done it, I’ve done it! Tell the other Twilight I did it’,” Sunset read aloud in a flat, confused tone. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
Judging by how big and bright Twilight’s eyes were behind her glasses she did indeed have an idea of what the message was about.
“Oh my gosh, she did it?!” she squealed in delight. “I wonder how she did it?! Well obviously magic of course but I wonder what kind of magic?! And how much science was involved? Cause there had to be some kind of science involved or it wouldn’t be a thing at all! Oh I wonder what materials did she use?! How did she power it? What kind of intelligence does it have?! What-”
Her next question was silenced by Sunset placing a finger over her lips. It was only removed once the amber skinned girl was sure the “highly intelligent” girl had come down enough to focus on just one thought. Well maybe two.
“What did she do and how are you involved?” Sunset asked.
( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
Twilight hummed cheerfully as she carefully measured the top plate on Tik Tok’s head then glanced over to the remaining pieces of metal she had. If she was doing her calculations right then she should have just enough left over to create a new cranial and back plate to fit the hair and tail pieces Rarity was making. Though the tail would be more difficult as she’d have to find a way to let Tik Tok move it like any other pony. Which would require some more gears and wires. That would be more difficult.
She was brought out of her musings by a familiar buzzing sound. Setting her tape measure aside she used her magic to levitate the journal she used to keep in contact with Sunset Shimmer over to her and flipped it open.
“Huh that was a faster response than I expected,” she noted.
“Well what’s she say?” Rainbow asked, looking up from her losing game of Tic-Tack-Toe with Pinkie Pie.
Twilight looked down and scanned the note.
Dear Princess Twilight,
Twilight here told me about your invention. Congratulations, that’s amazing! Though I’m not nearly as excited about it as she is. In fact she was SO excited about it that we had to physically restrain her from jumping into the portal after she explained it. AND she’s talking about trying to build one of her own here. So if we end up having to fight a killer robot I’M going to jump through the portal and kick your flank myself!
Your friend,
-Sunset Shimmer
She stared in slack jawed surprised at the rather...aggressive message. A look that didn’t go unnoticed by Rainbow Dash.
“Well? What’d she say?” the Pegasus demanded.
“She...said she’s happy for me!” Twilight answered as she quickly closed the journal. “Yep! She’s totally happy for me. That’s all she said. Happy!”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in suspicion but Twilight quickly levitated the book into a chest in the corner of the lab and locked it before the other mare could try to take it from her.
“Okay! So let’s get to work here!” she announced loudly to change the subject.
“What do you need us to do?’ Fluttershy asked.
“Actually I just need you to make sure that Tik Tok’s going to be okay while I swap out her plates,” Twilight explained.
“Check to make sure your ticky tocky daughter is still up and running?! Can do!” Pinkie said with a cheerful salute.
“Pinkie she’s not my-” Twilight started but was cut off by Rainbow Dash.
“Shouldn’t we wait ‘til Rarity gets back with the wig and tail before we start doing this?” she asked.
“I’m baaa-aaaack!” Rarity’s voice sang out from the doorway.
“That was uncanny,” Fluttershy remarked.
They all turned and watched as Rarity happily trotted in with her saddle bags and a proud look on her face. Applejack was a few steps behind her with a slightly less enthusiastic look on her face and carrying a medium sized bag in her mouth. She hastily set it down next to Rarity when she stopped just before Twilight and Tik Tok.
“So are we ready to begin?” she asked.
“Almost, can I see what kind of wig you made so I can compare it to the new head plate?” Twilight asked back.
“Well of course darling. Feast your eyes on...this!”
With a flair unique to her, Rarity used her magic to pull open one of the sides to her saddle bags and pulled out a beautiful looking wig made out of a fine gold thread that seemed to shine under lab’s lights. It was long and flowing and soft to the touch. Rarity beamed proudly as she hovered it in front of Tik Tok, who’s own eyes seemed to shine brighter.
“It’s amazing,” she whispered in awe.
She reached out and ran a metal hoof through it and was a bit dismayed she couldn’t actually “feel” it. There was some sensation there but it seemed...dulled. She didn’t have much experience with such things but something told her the others could probably appreciate the feel of the fabric much better than she could. Still, in spite of this, she nearly jumped at the thought of something so beautiful adorning her head.
“It looks amazing Rarity,” Twilight complimented. “Thank you.”
“Yes. Thank you. Very much,” Tik Tok added.
“Oh it was my pleasure darling,” Rarity waved off. “No pony, metal or not, should be without a fabulous mane.”
“And the tail?” Twilight inquired.
Rarity’s expression fell slightly.
“Actually...that was giving me a bit of...trouble,” she confused with a nervous smile. “I’ve come up with some ideas but I’m not quite sure any of them really work.”
“Actually that’s perfect,” Twilight smiled.
“It is?”
“Yes. Because...” she levitated over a long, segmented cord attached to some wires and gears, “together I think we can weave it into this base and give Tik Tok a fully functioning tail!”
“Why that’s brilliant Twilight!” Rarity clapped happily. “So how do we do it?”
“I think if we just concentrate on combining the two with our own unique brands of magic that should do it,” she explained.
“Alright. Then let’s give it a shot!”
With that, Rarity levitated a coil of fabric from the other side of her saddlebags and floated it up to where Twilight still held the cord in midair. Their magical auras combined into an almost faded purple color as the items began to circle each other. The two unicorns strained in concentration, trying to come up with the perfect combination in their minds. As their thoughts began to synch up the swirled faster and faster around each other. Twilight and Rarity’s brows furrowed in further concentration and the others watched in amazement as the thread begin to weave in and around the cord. After another minute or so the process finally completed itself with a brilliant flash that made them cover their eyes. When it dissipated the perfect facsimile of a tail was left floating in the magic field.
“We did it!” Twilight cheered a bit tiredly.
“Yes we certainly did,” Rarity agreed, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. “Do you have it?”
“Yep. You can let go now.”
“Good,” the white unicorn sighed and released her own field.
She swayed a bit but Applejack quickly came to her side to give her support. They smiled briefly at each other before the earth pony looked back at Twilight.
“So now what?” she asked.
“Now we finish her up,” Twilight said and cast a loving glance over to Tik Tok.
With that she levitated the wig as well and the two new plates she had fashioned for the clockwork creation. Her tongued slipped out the side of he mouth a bit as she concentrated on combining all the items together. Thankfully it was much easier to do it by herself since she didn’t have to coordinate with anypony. It took her only a minute to get the fabric and metal woven together in a way that would hold steady once they were attached. Speaking of, she gave Tik Tok a questioning look to which the metal mare simply nodded. Twilight nodded back and narrowed her eyes a bit in further concentration. With a slight “clang” the old cranial plate slipped off and was placed aside before the new, wigged, one was clamped down into it’s place. Once she was sure it was secured back in place, Twilight repeated her actions with the back plate. This time, however, Tik Tok gave a slight jump as the plate with the tail was slapped onto her backside.
“Anypony else think this looks kinda...wrong?” Applejack asked as she fidgeted uncomfortably.
“Yes,” Fluttershy quietly agreed with a bright blush on her cheeks and peeking out of the corner of her eyes.
Twilight ignored their comments and continued on with her work, making sure all the new wires and gears where connected properly. Small beads of sweat began to form over her forehead as she worked. After a minute or so of fine-tuning she let out an exhausted sigh and let her aura fade out.
“There! I think that’s it,” she muttered and wiped the sweat away with a forehoof. “See if you can move your tail Tik Tok.”
She nodded then looked back at her newly installed golden tail and thought about swishing it back and fourth as she had seen Twilight do earlier. Nothing happened. The shutters over her eyes narrowed and focused all her energy onto the appendage. Then with a slight click and whirl her tail began to sway back and fourth like a snake trying to memorize its prey. Her eyes widened a bit and if had she the ability to, a big, happy smile would have spread over her face. Instead she merely let out a few happy chirps and squeals as she swished her tail back and fourth and up and down.
“It works!” she cheered. “It really works! I have a tail!”
“I’m glad it does,” Twilight beamed then frowned just a bit. “To be honest I wasn’t quite sure if it would or not.”
“But it did! And it does! I’m so happy!” Tik Tok declared, clapping her polished hooves again.
“Of course the tail’s not the only thing we have to worry about now,” Rarity spoke up.
“It’s not?” she asked as she cocked her head to the side, which caused some of her newly installed “hair” to fall over an eye.
“Not at all darling. Now that you have mane that means only one thing,” the fashion pony said proudly before she floated the bag Applejack brought over to her. “Styling!”
With girlish glee Rarity threw open the bag’s zipper and used her magic to pull out all sorts of mane styling accessories and products. Before Tik Tok, or any of the others for that matter, could ask anything else, Rarity went right to work. Brushes, hair ties and spray bottles flew around the slightly nervous robot in a flurry of motion. Each time it seemed Rarity found a style she liked, she would suddenly shake her head and start all over again. The others merely stood back and watched, having learned a while ago never to interrupt Rarity while she was “working her magic”. After a few failed attempts the unicorn finally secured the end of Tik Tok’s golden locks with a red hair tie and let it fall gracefully over her neck. She took a step back and examined her work. This style spoke to her but she was quite sure why.
“Now that I like for some reason,” she mused as she rested her chin on a hoof.
“Uh, Rarity?” Applejack asked flatly.
“Hmm?” she asked back as she looked towards her marefriend.
As she did her eye caught sight of something very familiar. She stared at the thick braid Applejack usually wore her mane in then looked back at the same thing she had just recreated on Tik Tok. Her head went back and fourth a few times as seemed she was having trouble processing her idea. Eventually an embarrassed grin appeared on her face and she quickly undid Tik Tok’s braid.
“Sorry about that darling, I simply don’t know what I was thinking,” she tried to explain.
“Uh huh,” Applejack nodded, unconvinced.
“I bet I know what she was thinking,” Rainbow Dash snickered into Twilight’s ear.
Unfortunately she only got a poke in the ribs for her trouble.
“Ow!” the Pegasus cried out.
“Well my little...booboo aside, I do think tails are the way to go on you dear,” Rarity told Tik Tok.
“I do like tails,” she replied, giving her own another swish.
“Then let’s try something like this,” the fashionista spoke again.
This time she split the long locks into two equally thick and long ponytails letting each one fall down past Tik Tok’s copper neck. She then pulled some of the top hair loose from it’s pulled back position to form a singular bang that came to rest just above the robot’s right eye, the light of which made it seem almost like the hair was glowing. It was an unexpected side effect of the positioning but one that looked wonderful regardless. Finally satisfied with her work, Rarity held a mirror up to her client’s face.
“Well what do you think?” she asked.
Tik Tok stared at her reflection for a bit. This was, after all, the first time she had actually seen herself. She now understood why the others were surprised by her appearance at first. So like a pony yet so different. But with this new mane she was looking more and more like the regular ponies surrounding her. And it’s styling was more beautiful than she could really comprehend at the moment. She really wasn’t sure of the words she wanted to use to express how much she liked, no, loved it! Curiously though as she continued to stare at her reflection the blue lights that made up her mouth all lit up without her making a sound.
“Tik Tok? Are you okay? I something wrong with your voice?” Twilight asked urgently.
“No,” she said and the lights shut off after her word. “I...I think...that was my form a smile. That’s how much I love this look!”
“Well then allow me to smile for the both of us,” Rarity offered as she did just that, her smile spreading check to check. “I’m so happy you approve.”
“I do! I really do!” Tik Tok nodded vigorously.
“Well now that we have that out of the way, what do we do next?” Rainbow asked.
“Now comes the best part!” Twilight cheered, her own face covered by a smile.
“The ‘Welcome to Existence’ Party?!” Pinkie asked hopefully, having already pulled a bunch of balloons from...somewhere.
“Not yet! Next comes the learning!” the purple prince squealed. “Which only means one thing...BOOKS!”
“Oh,” Pinkie said, the balloons deflating beside her. “I guess that could be fun.”
“Yeah for an egghead like Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, walking closer to her. “Sorry babe but this is where I leave it on your hooves. I got some stunts I want to work on anyway. Let me know when you’re ready to teach her some real cool stuff!”
With that she gave Twilight a quick peck on the cheek then flew out of the room before Twilight could say anything else.
“Actually I better go too and start actually planning her party! It’s gonna be her first one ever and unlike little babies she will remember it so I gotta make sure it’s extra special!” Pinkie declared before she herself bounced out of the room.
“And my trip back to Carousel Boutique reminded me that there are some things I need to get back to and finish,” Rarity spoke up. “Sorry darling but please do let me know if you need me for anything else.”
“Ah suppose Ah better get goin’ too. Got some chores I need to finish before nightfall. But like Rarity said, ya need any help ya know where to find me,” Applejack said before she tipped her hat to Twilight and Tik Tok then walked out with Rarity.
There was a pause before Twilight looked over to Fluttershy.
“Let me guess, you have to go too,” she asked in a somewhat annoyed voice.
“Well...” Fluttershy stalled, tracing circle on the floor with her hoof. “It’s not like I want to just leave you like this but...you know how Angel can get if he doesn’t get his food on time and it’s almost his dinner time now.”
“Fine, fine,” Twilight sighed. “Sorry I don’t mean to sound like a grouch or keep you here longer than you need to be. I just wish somepony here would share my love of books. And not just Daring Do ones!”
“Well I’m not sure what a book is but it does sound interesting,” Tik Tok spoke up. “And you seem to enjoy them so they must be something good.”
“Oh they are! They really are!” Twilight beamed again her eye brightening. “Let me show you my library! It’s full of thousands of books! About 20,000 actually!”
“That’s...a lot, right?” Tik Tok asked.
“Only if we have to sort them. Again!” Spike muttered.
“Oh shush Spike it was fun! And now I get to share that joy with somepony else! I’m so excited! Come on, I’ll show you where the library is. Just follow me!”
Tik Tok nodded and followed Twilight as she and Spike walked out of the lab and headed towards the castle’s library.
“I’ll, uh, I’ll just show myself out then,” Fluttershy said to the empty room.
( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
In practically no time at all the three of them were standing in the castle’s library and Twilight’s smile threatened to pull her face apart. She used her magic to pull a thick tome from one of the many shelves lining the walls and hovered it front of Tik Tok.
“Now this is a book,” she explained. “It’s full of all sorts of wonderful knowledge. Like this one is a complete guide to Equestria’s history. Or at least as complete as it can be. There’s still quite a few things historians aren’t sure of yet so there could be a new volume coming out any time now!”
“So this is a record of what has come before us?” Tik Tok asked as she laid a brass hoof on the well-worn cover.
“Yep! Of course there are also other books that go into even greater detail about certain events and important figures and things like that. And those are just the historical books! There’s still plenty beyond that! There’s non-fiction, fiction, adventure fiction, dramas, historical fiction, historical fiction dramas. I could make a whole list!” She let out a loud gasp. “In fact, I’ll go do that right now! It’ll be a great way for you to know what you should focus on! Here you can start with this while I go work on the list!”
Twilight placed the book in Tik Tok’s hooves before she flew out of the library with a surprising amount of speed. Tik Tok watched curiously as her creator left then looked down at Spike.
“She really does enjoy these things, doesn’t she?” she asked.
“You have no idea!” Spike snorted.
“Then perhaps I should get an idea,” Tik Tok resolved as she set the book down and flipped the cover open.
Spike couldn’t help but let out a somewhat tired sigh. If Tik Tok really was anything like her “mother” then she’d spend hours on just that one book alone. Idly he wondered if his private stash of comics was still in the library. At least that’d give him something to read too. No sooner had the though crossed his mind than her heard a mad flipping of pages. He watched in amazing me as Tik Tok’s hoof flew over the book in a flurry of motion. Within seconds the final cover to the book was flipped up, leaving it sitting in the opposite direction in which it had began.
“Wow. Equestria’s history is amazing!” Tik Tok chimed happily then eagerly looked at Spike. “Is there any more?!”
“Um. Yeah. Just follow me and I’ll show you where Twilight keeps all the history books,” the young dragon said, taken a bit off guard. “You really read that whole thing just now?”
“Yes,” she replied then cocked her head to the side. “Is that not something ponies can do?”
“Let’s just say you take the idea of ‘speed reading’ to a whole new level.”
She gave him a curious look but filed it away for later. For now she was far more interested in what these other books had in store.
( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
About an hour and a half later Twilight came flying back into the room with a long scroll tailing behind her.
“I’m back!” she announced. “Sorry for taking so long, turns out it was a lot harder than I thought to narrow this list down.” She then looked at the “short” list falling from her hooves. “Such as it is.”
She looked up from the list and noticed that neither Tik Tok nor Spike were anywhere near where she left them.
“Spike? Tik Tok?” she called out.
“Over here Twilight!” she heard Spike’s voice call out.
As she followed the sound of his voice to one of the further corners of the library she noticed a trail of books along the way. Although they had been taken off the shelves they were stacked in nice and neat towers throughout the room. When she rounded the final stack she found Spike staring intently at Tik Tok as she flipped rapidly through what appeared to be the final book in the library. Within seconds she flipped it over and tossed it onto the stack next to her.
“Finished!” she proclaimed proudly.
“F-finished,” Twilight repeated in amazement. “You mean...you read every book in the library already?!”
“Yeah. It was actually really impressive,” Spike remarked.
“But...but...but...my list,” she muttered pathetically.
“Did I do something wrong?” Tik Tok asked worriedly.
“No! No! It’s nothing just...all of them?!” Twilight asked again.
“Was I not supposed to?”
“But...books!” she remarked again.
Tik Tok looked down at Spike in concerned. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yeah just give her time to work it out,” he told her.
“Books. All the books! I can’t...I just...” Twilight continued to sputter.
“Okay this one might take a little longer than normal,” Spike noted.
“Oh dear,” Tik Tok sighed.
To Be Continued...
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So in this timeline we have Tik Tok.
In another, there is Turing Test.
Both of whom can read an entire library in a few hours.
6805444 I'm not familiar with this other one.
6806508 http://www.fimfiction.net/story/257491/the-iron-horse-everythings-better-with-robots
6806777 Ooooh right that one! Okay I HAVE seen that one but I'm trying to avoid it til I'm done with my fic so I won't be accused of stealing anything. Plus again my luck I go ahead with this idea and someone ELSE already did it! And got a feature on EqD no less!
6807042 Always room for more bots.
Tik Tok was made by Twilight after some input from Sci-Twilight.
Turing Test was repaired by Twilight after being struck by lightning.
The funny thing is that they are both T.T.
Which can stand for something else: Twilight's Toy
6807218 Huh. Funny how that works out. Didn't even think about that second thing. Sounds like Turing Test went the direct Short Circuit route while I went more for the subtle homage. Which is where Tik Tok's speed reading ability comes from.
Yay
an update!
Ya' know, there's a zoom function right? Ya don't need to get so close to the screen...
6807789 Sorry it took me awhile to get this one out. The holidays kept me busy with other stuff.
And here I expected hi-jinx from Tik Tok being illiterate. Well I guess this works too. But the scene of Twilight trying and failing to teach her basic equestrian would have been so fun.
So is Pony-Ultron going to be a thing?
6995338 Well the robot will be but she won't be Pony-Ultron. I decided against. But still had to play up that scene for her intro.