Of Robots and Those Who Make Them

by Valtyra

Why is love so rand();

"Is- Is it working?" a soft, feminine voice asked out of the darkness. "I really hope I didn't forget to install anything."

As the mare's voice faded, various new sounds began to trickle in. The harsh buzz of the fluorescent light above, the electric hum of some sort of generator from behind and the tapping of hooves on wood quickly rushing back and forth.

"Magical relay lines are set up and functioning, particle net is within parameters, you should be able to see, " the voice stressed, sounding confused. "Maybe if I... Oh, horsefeathers!"

Celestia heard the mare move around, then a second later felt a wire being jiggled about at the back of her head.

"Come on, work!" the voice grumbled as the first sparks of sight danced across Celestia's vision.

Scanning the room, Celestia found herself hanging in the middle of a clean and well-maintained workshop. Off to her right side sat a mobile terminal and to her left sat a trolley full of spare parts, each painted with various colours, ranging from butter yellows to pure whites.

The floor was crafted from burnt orange oak planks which held the scars from experiments long passed, judging from the many deep gouges and scorch marks that littered the area. Around the outside of the room were well stocked tool cupboards as well as several open boxes of scrap metal and magical parts.

A magical glow surrounded the terminal and it spun around to face the mystery mare behind Celestia. Within the deep black box sat a video-feed directly from Celestia's own optics.

"Aha!" the mare gasped. The sound of excited hooves clopping on wood could be heard. "I knew it was that. Why is it always a loose wire?!"

Movement could be heard again and the mare wandered into view.

Celestia instantly began to classify and catalogue her visual information as a stream of data appeared on the terminal's screen.

A shining coat of lavender, brushed to perfection.
A mane as soft as a cloud. Eyes that sparkle like an evening's kiss.
Lips that a mare would search for, but never find.

She gazed up at Celestia with a sheepish smile, her hoof brushing her mane away from her face. "I can't wait until I finish your voice subroutine," she giggled, cheeks flushing deeply as her horn began to glow. "You're nearly finished."

With a deep, yet happy sigh, she tapped a button on the terminal, glanced up at Celestia, then darkness.

---

"There we go," the mare's voice mumbled, along with more tapping of keys.

Celestia's vision exploded, allowing herself to see that she was, once more, within the workshop, the lavender pony standing in front of her.

She noticed the pony was now wearing an black apron which was stained with some sort of gold liquid and filed it away for later.

"You should be able to speak now. It took me all month," she started, sighing. "I hope you don't mind, but I synthesised a voice that, um, I found soothing..." the lavender mare explained, growing nervous at the end.

Celestia could indeed find a new subroutine installed and channeled her flow of magic to test it out. With a hesitant pause, she settled in a simple greeting.

"Hello," her warm, motherly voice spoke, causing the mare's awkward smile to grow, to blossom into a wide grin.

"Ohmygosh, you said hello!," she all but squealed, jumping up and down.

"May I ask who you are?" Celestia asked, her optics staring down at the pony.

The mare froze and turned towards her. "What? Oh, of course you can!" she replied, as if it didn't need to be asked. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's lovely to meet you, Celestia."

More data streams buzzed up on the terminal's screen, classifying the mare as well as voice samples and pictures of her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said, warmth flowing from her synthetic voice.

"I'll have to turn you off in a second to preserve power, but I simply cannot wait to turn you back on, Celestia," Twilight sighed, moving closer and placing a hoof on the robot's stomach. "You've taken so long... not long now," she whispered, turning to the terminal and tapping another key, then darkness once again.

---

Consciousness exploded back into Celestia and she jerked against the bindings which held her tight. She could feel each cold-iron shackle against her shell and the cool touch they provided.

Twilight Sparkle was once more in front of her, typing at the terminal, but something was different about the mare. Celestia compared the images she had taken before to the side view of the pony and realized that she was wearing a bandage on her left front hoof.

"Hello there, Celestia," Twilight greeted, turning to the robot with a smile, despite the addition of a rather pink and tender looking scar running across her muzzle. "How did you sleep?" she asked,

Celestia focused on Twilight's new addition. "How did you hurt yourself?" she asked, straining the bond that ran across her head as a hint of concern seeped into her voice.

"Oh, this?" Twilight replied, running her unhurt hoof across the side of her muzzle. "Uh," she stammered, wincing. "I got it when your Mana Core ruptured before, but it was worth it, really!"

"You should be more careful, Twilight. I don't like seeing you hurt," Celestia replied, gently chastising the mare.

While the scar wasn't anything impressive, only sitting half way up her muzzle and being an inch in length, it stood out against her lavender fur.

A gentle flush rose up to cover her face upon hearing Celestia's words. "I will be, next time."

Hearing this placated Celestia for a while, allowing Twilight to rush about to and fro, collecting various tools and placing them in front of the robot.

"Twilight Sparkle," she asked, straining her head to try and watch the pony. "May I ask what you're doing?"

Twilight popped back into view and grinned. "I have to make sure none of your thaumic pathways have burnt themselves out, or dissipated. Don't worry, I won't switch you off."

"I am not worried, Twilight Spar-"

"Just Twilight, please. No need to be so formal," she ordered, levitating over a bulky, grey box with a screen in the front and several wires with sticky pads protruding out of the side.

"Twilight, I am not worried. I trust that you will turn me back on."

Twilight grinned and nodded. "Of course I will. Plus, other than the fact that I'll have to show the council what I've been doing for the past several months, I don't think I'd live with myself."

Her horn began to glow and Celestia felt her chest plate unclip from her shell and float over to lean against Twilight's terminal.

Placing a copper eyepiece up to her eye with her magic, Twilight leaned into Celestia's chest. Levitating the grey box over, she attached the padded wires to her robot's core then, after a couple of seconds, leaned back out and smiled up at her. "There doesn't seem to be any initial damage. The Mana Core is holding steady, but you're draining a lot more than I theorised."

Pulling her head away and placing the eyepiece down, she brushed her messy mane and smiled. "Anyway, I think it's time to connect your limbs, don't you?" she asked, levitating and reconnecting Celestia's chest, allowing feeling to flood back into the numb robot.

"Thank you, Twilight."

The mare looked up with a slight expression of surprise, but quickly brushed it away in favour of lighting her horn back up.

A second later, four limbs floated over in her magic and Twilight wrapped her legs around one to hold it close. "With your unique bodily structure, I couldn't just use the same leg shape as mine, so I took some inspiration from the minotaur and maybe a little from the deer. I really hope you like them, they took longer than I initially hoped.

Gazing down, this was the first time that Celestia had seen any part of her. Held within Twilight's hooves, and magic, were legs made from a white, frosted glass exterior shell, a thin layer of translucent magical conductor, then a core of steel which tested at the center.

"I want to check how you feel before I connect your horn. You know, safety first and everything," Twilight joked, rolling her eyes. "Not that it helps much," she mumbled under her breath.

Celestia found herself gazing more at Twilight than anything else. She found her smile captivating, enthralling even. She didn't have the processing power to classify why though.

"Alright, I'm going to connect your right arm," Twilight said. "Please say if this is uncomfortable for you," she asked, levitating Celestia's arm up to her side.

The arm neared the socket and Celestia could feel jolts of magic flow between her torso and the arm joints as her magical field latched onto the limb, cancelling out Twilight's own. Within seconds, the body part was integrated and configured for use.

All along its length, the frosted glass structure morphed, as the hexagonal surface shifted, changing its shape subtly to grow slightly more slender than the bulky limb Twilight had crafted.

Holding her hoof up, Celestia rotated and tilted it to get a sense of motion, before ejecting five triangular pieces of translucent graphite which had been hidden at the bottom of her hoof. They levitated just off the end of her hoof, much akin to the minotaur's fingers.

"I thought that you would like being able to manipulate items with finer detail," Twilight announced, nodding self-assuredly. "

Celestia moved her fingers experimentally, finding that they would be levitated anywhere along her body, but would obviously be most useful at the end of her legs.

"It was very thoughtful. Thank you," she replied, moving her attention off her fingers to see Twilight already levitating the rest of her limbs towards her.

One by one, her feeling expanded as each limb was stolen from Twilight's magical grasp and integrated with her own. She flexed her other arm and her legs, taking stock of her body.

"May I be released, Twilight?" she asked, brushing her fingers over the enchanted bonds holding her body and head in place.

"Oh, right... Uh, sure," Twilight said, nodding.

"Is something the matter?"

"I didn't think about it when I built you-" Twilight began, looking embarrassed. "You won't attack me, will you? I know the first law of golems won't allow you to... but I also gave you as close to free will as possible."

A brand new feeling hit Celestia right then and and let out a twinkling laugh, much to the blushing Twilight's dismay. "Why ever would I do that, Twilight?"

"The standard guidebook is to keep all golems restrained for three days once built to settle their emotions, and to keep them docile," she explained, having closed her eyes and finishing with a nod.

Opening her eyes, the conflict could be seen raging inside of her.

"Technically, by law, you're a golem, but... We are alone and I did design you to be kind and gentle," she muttered, looking down at her tools.

"You may do what you think is best, Twilight," Celestia stated, smiling. "I am simply content knowing you are here with me."

Finally, Twilight looked up with determination and flared her horn.

A click rang out around the workshop and the bond holding Celestia's head tumbled away and hit the ground, denting the wood.

Another click and the bond holding Celestia's chest fell away.

As soon as the final bond around her stomach unlocked, Celestia's body dropped off the frame she was held on and she bent at the knees once her hooves hit the floor with a metallic thump.

Rising back up to her full height, almost half again taller than Twilight, she stared down upon her creator, then knelt and bowed her head. "Thank you, Twilight," she uttered, her voice soft, warm and full of that affection which Twilight so desperately craved.

"I-It's okay!" Twilight replied, maybe a little too loud as she looked surprised. "You don't have to thank me..."

Celestia stood up and turned her head, carefully, upon feeling that wires and cables still plugged into her. "Am I to stay connected?" she asked, reaching back to feel the copper coated cables.

"Oh, right," Twilight stammered, not having realised just how tall she would be.

Her horn lit up and Celestia could feel the cables slowly unscrew until they fell away; a hiss of magic washing over the back of her head. The wires were disconnected easily and the terminal's screen faded to darkness.

"Do you feel alright? Is your core holding steady without external power?" Twilight asked, tapping her hooves against the floor out of worry.

Celestia closed her eyes and nodded after running a diagnostic test. "My core is producing ambient mana. At the current rate, it should sustain me for the next eight months." Opening her eyes, she saw Twilight grinning up at her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she stored that photo for safekeeping.

"That's perfect- well, not perfect as that's almost three times less than I was expecting the core to hold, but I really shouldn't be worried, eight months is a long time and I really can't be expecting an experimental Mana Core to work the first time and I should really stop talking as it's making me sound weird," she gasped, fighting the urge to turn away with her flushed cheeks.

Celestia took a step forward and knelt down, before pulling Twilight against her shell. Her arms wrapped around the shocked mare, holding her tight, but she ignored that and began to stroke her fingers through her mane while humming.

"Calm, Twilight," she cooed, her other arm wrapped around Twilight's barrel to keep her steady.

Twilight flushed at the contact and squirmed for a second as she felt those synthetic fingers brush through her mane. It didn't take long for her breathing to slow and for her to settle down. Closing her eyes, Twilight melted into her creation's embrace. "That's-" she mumbled. "That's nice..."

"I'm glad you enjoy it," Celestia whispered, closing her own eyes. She could feel the very air around them shimmer with Twilight's aura. It felt strong, stronger than her own, but it wavered with uncertainty.

"I should get back to work," Twilight whispered, leaning closer to Celestia's cool, glass shell. "I still have a lot to finish up," she added, hesitantly pulling away from the robot. "Follow me."

"Anywhere, Twilight," Celestia replied, smiling lovingly down at her creator.

Comments

[Dexiom]

This is some good stuff so far keep up the good work mate!

[Carbon]

Interesting! Keep going!

[Valtyra]

9961902
9961864
Thanks you two! :D

[Nightsclaw]

An interesting start, looking forward to where you take this.

[AleaJactaEst]

Yes. You may take all of my yes. They're hereby yours to do with as you please.

On a more serious note, I thought I was charmed when I stumbled across the time travel, double-princess dating story. I may not have been wrong, or I may have, but I'm certainly charmed now. Have my follow.

[Valtyra]

9962008
Aw, thanks! <3

[MidnightBlossom]

First you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention

[Perky Pegasister]

Heh, you had us fooled. To introduce a quick twist in so early was a happy surprise, but to let it burn so slowly caught me off guard. I'm looking forward to the chemistry between those two, even though one of them has arms... Why does Celestia have robot arms?

Have a delicious fave

[Valtyra]

9962782
She's bipedal! :D

Maybe Twilight likes that ;)
And thanks for the fave. Chapter 2 is being edited.

[Deynarth]

Might as well give her arms I guess. No reason to let your creation be limited by anything other than efficiency , practicality and budgets.
...then again , I would be the kind of guy to create unholy abominations in order to have the best possible mechanical girlfriend :
... like also give her a tail and a mane made of mechanical tendrils , because several more prehensile limbs are usefull.
...and more optics because having only 2 eyes is pointless limitations.
...and claws to allow for greater traction and mobility
...and put the "brain" in the flanks , because no one would expect her to think with her ass , allowing greater protection against malicious people.

[Valtyra]

9963443
I like all of them, hehe. Celestia was made for Twilight's enjoyment, so she might even get some junk ;)

Though, it's only a teen, so...

[Natedogg2006]

I've been waiting to check this one out but now I wish I hadn't waited so long. I'm pretty sure this whole opening is a very specific homage, but I'm glad you didn't stick in a "you're gonna be one bad motherf***er" to complete it. I love the way the story is being told do far, looking forward to catch up on it