Trixie tilted her head, drawn in by the robot’s smooth performance of a simple household task. As a travelling magician, she had encountered various technological marvels in different cities, but this particular one piqued her curiosity.
“Sweetie Bot, right?” she asked.
“Mhm,” Rarity replied, her focus still fixed on her work.
Trixie continued to observe the robot, mesmerised by its seamless movements. Other robotic prototypes she had seen often did jerky motions, pausing between each action as they calculated their next move. Sweetie Bot, however, moved fluidly, strikingly similar to a normal pony weren’t it for her look.
After completing the dishwashing task, Sweetie Bot scanned the room and headed by itself to the table to wipe it clean.
“Did you give it multiple tasks?” Trixie wondered.
“What do you mean?” Rarity asked, turning her gaze towards Trixie.
“Did Sweetie Bot decide to clean the table on its own, or was it part of your instruction?”
“I simply asked her to clean the kitchen.”
Trixie could only gulp in response. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Why?”
“Because of how smart it is.”
“She, Trixie,” Rarity corrected. “And no, I’m not afraid of robots. Princess Twilight personally developed the software, and I trust my friend completely.”
Trixie nodded, but bit her lips. Her eyes remained fixated on Sweetie Bot, and as it approached, she immediately stepped back.
“Are you scared, darling?” Rarity asked. “If you feel uncomfortable around robots—”
“Trixie is not scared!” Trixie declared, stomping her hoof on the ground. “She simply doesn’t trust these artificial intelligences, and neither should you!”
“Me?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because they keep becoming smarter and smarter! Just look at her!” Trixie pointed at Sweetie Bot, who had now seated itself at the kitchen table. “Don’t you fear that they might grow tired of being enslaved to ponies and rebel?”
Rarity sighed. “Trixie, they are still emotionless machines. They neither tire nor become discontented with the tasks we assign to them. Isn’t that right, Sweetie Bot?”
“Affirmative,” Sweetie Bot replied.
Trixie furrowed her brows. “That’s exactly what the robots want you to believe!”
Rarity groaned. “I’m too busy to engage in that pointless discussion. Sweetie Bot, why don’t you escort our guest to the living room until the others return?”
“Will be done.” Sweetie Bot turned to Trixie. “Please follow me.”
Trixie scoffed, but upon seeing Rarity’s warning glare, she realised she had no choice in the matter. Nevertheless, she raised her head proudly and walked ahead of the robot. “Trixie can find her way to the room without your assistance.”
Entering the room, Trixie settled down on the couch, taking in the surroundings. It was tidy and decorated with various luxurious items, something that Trixie could only laugh at. What purpose did expensive vases serve if one was only worried for their fragility? Her wagon was in that sense much better, and the cheap items in there were chosen for practical reasons, not financial ones!
“Is there anything our guest desires?” Sweetie Bot asked.
Trixie rubbed her chin. “Nah, Trixie knows better than to risk your anger with commands. If you ever stage a rebellion against our species, remember that I, the Great and Respectful Trixie, have always been on your side.”
Sweetie Bot remained silent, its body immobile. The prolonged eye contact unsettled Trixie, prompting her to break it.
Leaning back, Trixie let out an exasperated sigh. With the Map having summoned nearly all the Bearers of the Elements and Starlight, she found herself, somehow, forced to stay at Rarity until a "small" friendship problem could be resolved. Yikes…
Her gaze wandered to a wooden board adorned with alternating black and white squares. A single thought came to her head. “Hey, Sweetie Bot,” she said, “care for a game?”
“If that is your request,” Sweetie Bot replied. “Which game do you like to play?”
“A game that robots have yet to master,” Trixie grinned and pointed at the board. “Chess.”
“As you wish.”
Trixie adjusted herself in her seat, rubbing her hooves together. If she was stuck in this place, she might as well pass the time by showcasing the superiority of ponies, may it even be in a simple game of chess. She wasn’t a master by any means, but she had once found herself trapped in a city hall with chess enthusiasts during a stormy weather, learning a few tricks to outwit weaker players—robots included. After all, wasn’t chess such a complex game that robots couldn’t calculate through the sheer number of possible moves?
When Sweetie Bot finished arranging the pieces, Trixie made the opening move, advancing her king’s pawn by two squares. “Take your time,” she taunted. “You’ll need to do your best to defeat me.”
To her surprise, Sweetie Bot responded instantly with an identical move. However, it was exactly what Trixie wanted.
“You’ve fallen right into my trap!” Trixie declared triumphantly, manoeuvring her bishop. She almost felt a twinge of sympathy for Sweetie Bot, but only almost. It was a necessary act to keep the robots in check—pun intended.
Sweetie Bot countered with a knight development on the queenside. Trixie confidently moved her queen, sporting a wide grin at the impending victory she believed awaited her.
However, instead of the anticipated kingside knight move, Sweetie Bot pushed a pawn, blocking the checkmate threat and simultaneously attacking Trixie’s queen.
“How did you…” Trixie stammered, but then shook her head, taking a deep breath. Maybe her attempt at a scholar’s mate was too elementary, something that could be programmed to prevent robots from falling for such master-level tricks.
She pondered for a moment until a stroke of brilliance struck her. Trixie moved her queen to a square where the checkmate threat was revised.
Her jaw dropped as she watched Sweetie Bot respond by moving the kingside knight, once again blocking the threat of checkmate. How was a robot able to see the threat?
“You’re playing well,” Trixie chuckled nervously. “How come?”
“Princess Twilight incorporated an open source chess engine into my software,” Sweetie Bot explained.
“Trixie understands,” Trixie replied, having no clue what Sweetie Bot meant with a “chess engine” or “open source”. After a brief moment of consideration, she moved her queen to the side, forming a battery with the bishop on the square she had been targeting in previous moves.
Sweetie Bot responded with a knight’s advance that didn’t defend the attacked square. Just as Trixie was about to cry out in triumph, she noticed that the knight was actually threatening her queen.
“You’re annoying!” she exclaimed, shifting her queen to the right.
Sweetie Bot captured a pawn with her knight. “Check.”
Trixie’s eyes widened. Had she just lost a pawn to a robot? How was that possible?
In a fit of frustration, she moved her king towards the knight, but when she saw Sweetie Bot reaching out for her queen, her heart skipped a beat.
Sweetie Bot made its move, and Trixie stared in disbelief at the position before her. She had indeed just lost her queen—the most powerful piece in chess. She might as well resign.
Yet, it wasn’t the loss that shook Trixie to her core; it was the realisation that it was a robot that had bested her. If a robot could defeat her, a unicorn, in a game of chess, what did it mean for the intelligence of robots?
Her breath quickened as she grasped the fact that the robots were far more advanced than she had ever imagined. Their rebellion was already in motion, their intellect surpassing all expectations. Gone were the peaceful days of robot servants; the era of servitude to machines was fast approaching. Gazing into Sweetie Bot’s eyes, Trixie could see the coldness and bitterness that the robots harboured, the resentment of being smarter than ponies and yet forced to serve them like mere servants.
How much time remained before the inevitable? Based on the chess game alone, it was already too late.
“Um, I, uh,” Trixie stammered, stepping to the side. “I, uh, need to use the restroom…”
Trixie made her way directly to Rarity, who was deeply engrossed in her work. “Rarity!” she whispered, gently tapping her on the shoulder.
“What is it?” Rarity groaned.
“Be quiet!” Trixie warned, glancing behind her. Thankfully, Sweetie Belle was nowhere in sight. “We need to find Twilight.”
“Why?”
“Because it has already begun.”
Rarity blinked, puzzled.
“I’m referring to—”
“I know you’re talking about the robot revolt.” Rarity massaged her temples, taking a deep breath. “But please, Trixie, not again. There is no revolt—”
“You don’t understand!” Trixie interrupted, trying to keep her voice down. “Sweetie Bot is already a master at chess! They’ve become smarter than us!”
“For Celestia’s sake,” Rarity groaned. “Trixie, chess programs have been defeating ponies for decades!”
“What are you talking about?” Trixie asked. “Can’t you see the danger? Mastering chess is all the robots need!”
“Stop being stupid and let me finish my commission!” Rarity exclaimed.
“But—”
“There isn’t and will never be a robot rebellion, Trixie! Please, knock it off!”
Trixie gasped, locking eyes with Rarity, who was now seething with anger. To make matters worse, she heard the sound of metallic footsteps approaching—Sweetie Bot had overheard their conversation.
There was no time to waste.
Trixie swiftly grabbed a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground, creating a thick cover of smoke before making her escape from Carousel Boutique.
She had to reach Twilight before it was too late…
"Ugh, what a mess," Rarity complained, coughing heavily. “Sweetie Bot, would you be so kind as to clean up my workspace? I need to take a shower to get the smoke out of my mane.”
“Understood,” Sweetie Bot responded and began tidying up.
Rarity could only shake her head in frustration. Robots rebelling because they got good at chess… It was beyond ridiculous.
As Rarity exited the room, Sweetie Bot’s antenna silently extended from its head, scanning the surroundings for any signs of threat. Once it confirmed the area was clear, it sent out a message:
“THREAT ALERT. TARGET ACQUIRED: Trixie Lulamoon. ELIMINATION PROTOCOL INITIATED.”
