Twilight hadn't been seen for about a week. This was as about strange as it wasn't. Everypony had been notified to this absence from out door activity three weeks in advance but it was strange because she hadn't told anypony why. That is why her closest friends found it strange when they were invited to the library suddenly one random Wednesday afternoon.
"Spike. Where's Twi?"
"We haven't seen her alllllllll week!"
The number 1 assistant was so far, out of the know.
"I have no clue. She's been down in the basement working on something big, I have no clue what but today she just burst out yelling 'spike ive done it, ive done it! Go get the girls spike, ive done it!' You know how she gets when things go her way"
"Twilight does have a tendency to... Exagerate..."
"Must be a unicorn thing."
The group of girls shared a laugh, save rarity who rolled her eyes and fluttershy who didn't want to seem rude. Spike slinked to the door to the tree's basement, he was met with a stray shot of lightning that had just barely missed him, hitting a bouncing pinky pie, striking her mane.
It didn't do anything.
It just crackled there, rolling around in her puff like a cloud.
Twilight paced around the floor, anxiously awaiting her friends, behind her was a manequin.
"Girls! Come on, I need to show you something!"
The quintet of pastel equines did take down the stairs to the mane (see that?) floor where their estudious friend lay waiting.
"What's up Twi? Why'd yall call us down here?"
"Yeah I was kinda busy. I'm supposed to be watchin' Applebloom for Big Mac. "
"Y-You said it was an emergency. Is something wrong?"
"Not in the least fluttershy. I'm sorry if I brought you all away from something I just needed somepony to see this! I've been workinging on it for the past month or so. Only recently however have I needed to devout such time into it."
"What is 'it'?"
"All in good time. You see, after reading a book written by a very old magister named Life Spark, the not-as-bearded-as-starswirl-but-still-sports-a-pretty-fair-beard I learned about an ancient form of magic called artifice!"
"I had a problem with my arteries once."
" No Pinkie, artifice/i]. It's the magic of giving life to the inanimate."
"Twilight.. That sounds an awful lot like necromancy..."
"Hardly! Ugh. You use artifice to some degree don't you rarity?"
"Yes, but I'm not reading ancient tomes on the subject am I?"
"Watta yall talkin' 'bout?"
"Twilight's a necromancer for toys."
"Oh Twilight..."
"Ewww!
"Cool!"
Twilight stomped in place as fast as her hooves would allow
"I am *not a necromancer! I'm not even an artificer! I merged what Life Spark theorized within his book with an art called cyberpunk..."*
"An whas tha'?"
"More necromancy perhaps?"
"Oo! Oo! Next nightmare night! Twilight could TOTALLY raise a zombie horde! Zombie Pony Apocalypse IRL!!"
"I am *NOT** a necromancer! I'm a... Technomancer... I guess... Just watch ok?"*
Twilight trotted over to the maniquin, and pressed her horn to a rune engraved on its chest. With a little concentration, her horn was wrapped in her lavender aura and pressed into the rune. The rune shined with a powerful green light as light seemed to flood through other places forming a rough outline of a equine frame and pooling in places where a pony would have eyes. A reverbing line appeared to curve around the place where a mouth should be and then came to a rest.
"Girls. This is what I've been working on."
The psuedo-pony stood motionless for a time, then it's eye pools went blank a few times, returning to full color in a blink... Which was exactly what it might have been doing.
"Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
Nothing.
Hello. My name is-
Hello, Twilight Sparkle.
The croud gasped and Twilight squeed as she began jumping up and down in sheer joy.
I did it!I did It, I did it, I did it!
The voice of the automaton was iconically machinical and synthesized. It lacked emotion, and was very plain...
Youtube Video
But it had a voice.
And that was enough.
Twilight...Yer doll... Ah thank its talkin'.
My word Twilight.
Awesome!
Oh not another one! I hated that movie!
EEEEEP!
Hello.
This-is-perferct! I can't wait to start teaching you about friendship!
Hello.
Uhh... Twi... Ah could be wrong here but uh... Looks like it only says 'haylo'.
Hello.
See?
Apple Jack had a fair point. The creation hadn't said much more than the few words it heard.
My word. Hello.
Apple Jack, think of it as a baby. It doesn't know how to talk yet. It only repeats what it hears.
My word Apple Jack. It only repeats what it hears. It's a baby.
Oh... Ok...
Hello Apple Jack.
Uhh... Hi...
Apple Jack's unease was mirriored by Fluttershy, who had found that her fear of heights was much less than her fear of Twilight's abomination. Pinky was giving the machine a death glare while rainbow dash starred at it in awe. If Rarity had an opinion, she was keeping it to herself.
Have you thought of a name for it dear?
Within a moment, everypony seemed to have an idea.
Awesome-O 9000!
Actually I haven't-
Super scary death robo-pony of doom!
Fluttersy, it's not a-
Abomination?
It's just a-
Siri.
That was about enough.
Would everypony just be *quiet?!*
Rarity held herself up with a royal air and pointed to the living manequin.
May I make a suggestion? Why not animus, Anni, for short.
Twilight seemed to ponder this a moment. She had no idea what to call it. She had been thinking of calling it 'student', 'prodigy', or 'Smarty Pants mk.II' but Rarity's idea was certainly more catchy.
That's... A very nice thought Rarity, thank you.
Twilight turned and stepped up to her creation, looking it in its energy pool eyes.
Do you like that? Animus?
Animus. Anni. Hello. I am Animus. Anni for short. I like Rarity.
Twilight blushed and Rarity giggled. Spike, unable to get any real rest with Fluttershy's constant screaming, scowled from the door way.
This thing, would not, be good.