The Iron Horse: Robot Rock

by The Hat Man

Maud Rest Ye, Merry Gentlecolt

Igneous Rock Pie awoke in the early hours of the morning well ahead of the dawn, his wife peacefully sleeping by his side. He stared up at the ceiling, the normal sense of peace and comfort of Hearth’s Warming he would have felt on such a morning replaced by a gnawing dread that ate away at the corners of his mind.

The older stallion softly slipped from his bed and made his way from the bedroom down to the kitchen. He brewed a strong pot of coffee, careful to minimize any noise to avoid waking his family. He poured a cup and carried it into the living room, making out the outline of the Hearth’s Warming tree and the Hearth’s Warming dolls lining the mantle of the fireplace that they’d carved the previous day. He lit a gas lamp and walked it around the room, observing the pictures that adorned the walls.

Here was a picture of him and Cloudy Quartz at their wedding. Then a picture of him holding Maud, his first foal, a telltale smile tugging at his mouth while Maud, even then, wore her characteristic blank expression. Following the line of pictures around the room and into the hall, he watched as his family grew, his girls matured into fine young mares, and even chuckled as his mane grayed and thinned out.

He heaved a sigh and went to the front window of the house. Outside, the iridescent crystals lining the front yard glowed faintly, illuminating the light snowfall as it came down in the darkness.

He donned his wide-brimmed hat and stepped outside, not minding the cold. He was a farmer, after all, and he wasn’t bothered by the cold. He’d endured far worse winters in his long life.

He shut his eyes and took a sip of the dark black coffee, savoring the bitterness, even appreciating the nearly-scalding heat as it sloshed down his throat and warmed him. He opened his eyes to see a plume of steam rising from the cup.

For a moment, all was peaceful and still. He was no stranger to being the first one up, especially on Hearth’s Warming Day. Such moments of solitude allowed him time to reflect, to plan, and to take stock of things. He was never a prideful stallion, believing in a simple, austere life of quiet dignity and upholding his family’s legacy. They’d gone through hard times as a family, and they’d endured.

But despite the quiet, the cold, and the calming darkness, he still felt a great heaviness bearing down on him. A strange presence had come to his little farm, and he knew not how to face it.

And just like that, as if on cue, he heard a whirring sound behind him accompanied by the crunch of snow and a faint glow of purple that gently colored the snow around him.

He sighed and turned around to face the being behind him.

“Good morning, Mr. Pie,” Turing Test said. She was wearing a red Santa Hooves hat. The coils of her mane peeked out from underneath it. She also wore a saddlebag slung over her back. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Mr. Pie.”

Igneous took another sip of his coffee. “Good morning to you as well, Miss Turing,” he said politely. After a beat, he asked, “You were not able to sleep either?”

“In truth, I do not ‘sleep’ in the traditional sense,” she replied.

He made a face at that. “Thou eat naught, thou needst no sleep, and thy countenance gives less away than even Maudalina’s,” he remarked. “It seems that thou do naught ‘in the traditional sense.’”

Turing’s ears twitched. “Perhaps,” she replied. “It is true that I differ significantly from other ponies. Due to my nature, many of the things organic ponies consider normal are foreign to me.

“But I am still a pony at heart. I think. I understand. And I feel. Perhaps not physical touch, but I have emotions as deep as any other. It was your daughter who perhaps contributed to my understanding of that more than any other. My feelings for her often occupy a significant portion of my cognitive resources, even when she is not present. It is my hope that—”

“Stop,” Igneous breathed, holding up his hoof. “What was thy purpose in coming out here? You still wish to gain my favor, my blessing in courting my daughter?”

Turing was silent for a moment, but then nodded. “Affirmative,” she said. “I would like that.”

Igneous sniffed. “For generations, my family hath called this place home,” he said. “Listen well, Turing Test:

“For one such as I, there is naught more important than family. My firstborn daughter, my Maudalina Daisy Pie, was the greatest blessing of my life upon her birth. Like me, she was of even temper and calmness befitting one who stewards the earth. So calm, so strong, so nimble of mind was she that I thought the stars themselves had sent her to safeguard the family legacy. The future seemed certain, and I was sure that she would preside over this farm when my time had passed.

“But it was not so. She instead sought to indulge her passion for the stones of the earth beyond the boundaries of our humble homestead. And so it was that we did ask of her to allow us some say in the one whom she would walk with through this life, for while her thirst for knowledge guided her every decision, I worried that she would never find happiness with another. I feared she would give up any hope of companionship to devote herself wholly to her eternal passion for rocks. But a mare doth not live by rocks alone.”

Turing Test nodded in agreement, but kept silent, waiting for him to continue.

“Though I had prepared myself to accept the path my daughter took, I was not prepared for thee,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “Thy very presence speaks of a future where all that I have devoted myself to shall fall to ruin and be forgotten. Last night, I heard thee speak to my daughters of the technology thou wouldst bring: ponies that speak through wires, where the land is tilled not through one’s own strength. but through the might of impersonal machines, and where ponies’ very bodies may be replaced piece by piece with parts wrought of metal. Simply staring at you doth remind me of all this and more.

“You would ask me to bless thy taking of my precious firstborn daughter, to give her over to the future thou would bring?” He shook his head solemnly. “Nay. I cannot do this. Though I bear thee no ill will and permit thee to remain here on my homestead on this blessed day, I cannot offer my blessing. Despite thy noble intentions, I cannot yoke thee with the hopes of my own beloved future. I only hope that, in time, Maud Pie shall forgive me.”

Turing Test’s eyes flickered for a moment. “While I cannot deny that I wish to bring future innovations and change to Equestria, I am very mindful of the importance of the past, Mr. Pie,” she said. “Knowing this, I brought something to show you.”

She reached into her saddlebag and brought out a small photo album, the very one she’d prepared in the moments before her departure. She went to his side and opened it, showing him the photos inside.

They showed Turing Test’s early days in Ponyville shortly after her activation when Twilight had first recovered her.

It showed her aerial race against Rainbow Dash, her magic training with Twilight Sparkle, her work on Applejack’s farm as she gathered the autumn harvest, and her performance in a community play, the laughter of her co-stars frozen in time. And, of course, there were several pictures of her attempting to learn how to bake from Pinkie Pie, the joy on her face as she laughed at her own jokes preserved for all to see.

Igneous smiled, especially at the ones with Pinkie Pie. “This is all well and good,” he said. “I am not forbidding thy friendship with either of my daughters, but—”

“There is more, Mr. Pie,” Turing said. “These were from my earlier days when I first learned what it meant to be a real pony, a true member of a community, and to be friends. Yet for all that my friendships meant to me and all that I had learned about emotions, there was an absence in my life that I had only a small understanding of. While Twilight Sparkle may have acted like a parent to me, it was not until later that I learned of my own origins. And while they may have initially been painful…”

She turned another page and Igneous saw a collection of Turing Test standing alongside other robots and a few older-looking ponies.

“...I eventually discovered that I did indeed have a family of my own. And it has brought me great joy.”

“This is thy… family?” he asked hesitantly.

Turing nodded, pointing to each of the strange ponies in the pictures. “This one with green eyes is my eldest sister, 001. She is very odd and often quite silly. She reminds me of Pinkie Pie in many ways. This one with the singular yellow eye is my second eldest sister, 002. This photo was actually taken from an image I recorded with my own vision, as she would never consent to stand for a silly portrait. She is often angry and bitter, but she has a sincere care for me and a devotion to her work… not unlike Limestone Pie.

“And the large one with blue eyes is my younger brother, 004. He is quite serious and is still trying to find his way in the world. For the sake of consistency, I would like to compare him to Marble Pie, but whereas Marble Pie is quite timid, he should probably learn to be less forward.”

Igneous ran his tongue around his cheek as he considered these strange images. The ponies in these pictures were all mechanical, much like Turing Test herself. And yet these ponies - gathered around a fireplace, presents beneath the Hearth’s Warming tree with stockings, and Hearth’s Warming dolls on the mantle - seemed no different from any other pony family.

He then noticed an older stallion with a gray mane and a reddish orange coat, lines of age criss crossing his face. There was an image of him wearing an awkward, ill-fitting sweater as he held Turing Test close by.

“Who is this?” Igneous asked.

“That is my father, Professor Cobbler Mustang,” Turing replied. “He created my siblings and me as part of a larger plan designed to avenge his first daughter.”

Turing turned a page and showed Igneous a faded picture of a young mare with chocolate brown curls in her mane in an elegant orange dress.

“This is her. Her name was Georgia Peach. My cognitive processing unit is partially based upon her and her memories. I am not her, of course, but just as an organic pony is the result of their family history and lineage, I am also the result of the enduring love my father had for her. And now Father has given up his grudge and wishes to make amends for his mistakes. Though he created me through scientific means rather than… ‘traditional’ means, he is nonetheless a good and caring father who wishes for his children’s happiness.

“Just as you do, Mr. Pie,” she added, placing her hoof on his shoulder. “Therefore, I believe that I do comprehend what it is that you feel. Despite my artificial nature and enthusiasm for future innovations, I recognize the importance of such things as tradition, history, love for one another, and, of course, for family. Without an understanding and appreciation the past, I do not believe that one can truly build for the future.”

She turned one more page and showed him a larger picture. It was of Maud Pie,a smile on her lips, blushing slightly as she wore an uncharacteristically fancy dress in Rarity’s boutique.

“I do not claim to feel exactly as you do for Maud Pie,” she said. “But to me, Maud Pie is as precious as my own family. And if you are concerned that my artificial nature precludes my ability to truly love her and appreciate her love in return, then I hope that I have convinced you otherwise.”

Igneous smiled, his eyes brimming over with tears.

“If, however, you still cannot approve of me,” she added quietly, “then I... will accept your judgment. I understand the value of family, and I could never come between Maud Pie and her family.”

She took the album back, placing it in her saddlebag, and turned back toward the house. “Thank you, Igneous Rock Pie, for listening to my plea. I will not trouble you further.”

She walked away, her hooves crunching softly in newly fallen snow.

“Wilt thou promise,” Igneous called suddenly, causing her to stop in her tracks, “to return here with her? To visit this place where she was born? To care for her when I cannot? To cleave to her as a true companion should?”

Turing Test looked back at him, then placed a hoof on her chest, bowing to him. “You have my word, Mr. Pie.”

The aging stallion heaved a sigh. As he did, he noticed that the sky had lightened and the sun was just beginning to rise up over the mountains surrounding the rocky valley.

“Then let us go back inside and celebrate as family,” he said. “And thus will I give Maud Pie her Hearth’s Warming gift directly.”

Turing’s pupils shrank. “Then you intend to—”

“Indeed so,” he said, trotting past her, toward the house. “Bring thyself inside, Turing Test. No doubt Pinkie Pie hath already roused the rest of the family for Hearth’s Warming now that the sun hath risen.”

Comments

[Adrela]

Look at me, I am the first comment

[Jack-Pony]

Damn you, Mr Hat Man! While some conjure rabbits, you summon onion-ninjas. Fowl, evil things.