Shinji's Nightmare

by Harry Leferts

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by Gainax and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro.

"Interesting..."- Nightmare talking.
"Why me..." -Ordinary speaking
'And so it begins.' -Nightmare thoughts
'Aw hay.' -Ordinary thoughts
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Misato grinned from where she sat as she watched as Ritsuko poured over the readings in regard to Shinji's new dreamwalking abilities. 'This is definitely worth having to wear those A-10s to bed...' She then took a sip of her coffee before she decided to speak up. "You know Rits, you could just simply declare it to be magic and be done and over with it."

The blonde scientist's eyebrow twitched as she reached out toward the Major with both hands as they opened and closed, as if they were going to throttle her. "Misato... I keep telling you... MAGIC DOES NOT EXIST!" She then jerkingly turned back to the computer screen. "There is a perfectly logical, normal, and most importantly, scientific explanation for what he did and for what I am seeing..."

After she took another sip, Misato tapped her chin in mock thought as she looked at the ceiling. "What was that quote? 'Any sufficiently advanced science and technology is indistinguishable from magic'?" She then waved a hand in a dismissive gesture as she shook her head, eyes closed. "Or something like that, anyways."

She had to blink, however, when Ritsuko turned back to her and hissed like an angry cat with a slightly wild look as she punctuated each of her following words by pounding on the desk. "THIS. IS. NOT. MAGIC. MAGIC. DOES. NOT. EXIST. THIS. IS. PERFECTLY. EXPLAINABLE." She then sighed and banged her head on the desk as she grumbled. "I just have to find the explanation first..."

The Major just rolled her eyes as she reached over beside her and grabbed a donut. "Suuurrrrrreeeee you will, Rits. Sure you will." She then took a bite. "Meanwhile, I'll just keep watching as you prove that de nile is not just a river in Egypt."

Ritsuko settled for a final frosty glare before she turned back to the screen and replayed what the sensors scattered around Tokyo-3 and its environs had recorded. 'There's two corresponding bursts of AT Field activity. One is obviously Shinji's while the other is the one whose dream he's visiting.' She then rubbed her face in tiredness as she reached out for her mug. 'I already ruled out an actual anti-AT Field like I had first though, the signs point to it not being that thankfully. Is he synchronizing his own AT Field so that it merges with that belonging to those whose dream he's visiting? Hmm... A limited form of Instrumentality perhaps? But that still does not answer why there is no connection between the two AT Fields... And how does he know what each frequency for each person's AT Field and how does he even find them...?' As she leaned back, she caught sight of Maya who had busied herself with her own project. "What do you have there Maya?"

Startled, the tech jumped a little before she turned and blushed at the looks of amusement that the other two women in the room were giving her. "Sorry Sempai, I was just working on a gift for Shinji-kun that I had thought up for him. I'm thinking of giving it to him once he wakes up."

Intrigued, the blonde scientist wheeled herself over to take a look at Maya's screen, at which she raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... that looks like the foreleg from Shinji's new plugsuit, but you modified it to have prongs?"

Maya shook her head. "Remember how Shinji-kun was having so much trouble typing normally on a keyboard with a pen or pencil?" After she got some nods, and a expression of knowing from Ritsuko, Maya continued. "Well, those prongs actually sit a bit above the bottom edge of Shinji's hooves while they stick out and have some movement available to them. So he can use them to do things like move a mouse or click it, not to mention being able to type again without needing to hold onto a pencil. The fit means that the glove part won't move and will fit perfectly."

As she shook her head in amazement, Misato smiled. "Well, I can honestly say that Shinji will love it Maya. It's a thoughtful gift after all."

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As the Commanding Officer of NERV 8th Branch looked down at at the entry plug submerged within a tank of LCL with wires running from it, he sighed. "So it seems that soon she'll be heading to Tokyo-3 once Unit-08 is completed."

Beside him, Major Brown snorted. "Well I may be sad ter see her leave, not having her causin' trouble will be nice..." He then shook his head. "How she can be so clumsy and be an such an excellent EVA pilot..."

Commander Walkins glanced at him for a moment before he looked around. "You know as well as I do that she was practically... born... to be the best EVA pilot that we could have..." He then grimaced. "And with the abilities her parents showed during the Bethany Incident, it should have worked better then it did..." He then grumbled. "Other then her, the only good thing that came out of it is that our Evangelion has an edge in being more advanced thanks to the technology recovered."

The Major looked at him and then at a screen that showed the Evangelion as it was being finished. "That may be, Sir. However, if not for the funding increase we would have had to scrap her in favor of the Mass Production Units." He then noticed the time. "Ah, good. Her training's done for the day." They walked to where the plug was slowly pulled up and stopped as it opened. "Pilot Skye. You did a smashing job today, congratulations."

After a few moments the dirty blonde haired girl stepped out and smiled before she saluted, her heterochromatic eyes drifted in different directs before she focused the piercing blue one on the two as the yellow one looked to the side. "Sir!"

As he watched her stumble a bit, the Commander shook his head. "If I may, why did you stumble though?" He then waved a hand around at her creastfallen look. "Though the progressive spear missed, it impacted the refinery and still dealt enough damage to wound the Angel."

She then blinked as she reached over and grabbed her glasses from a nearby desk before she put them on. As her eyes ceased to wonder, she pondered the question. "I just don't know what went wrong..." She then frowned as she noticed their expressions. "Is... something the matter, Sir?"

He just shook his head. "Not as such, Pilot." The Commander then sighed. "You shall, once Unit-08 is completed, be heading to Tokyo-3 and placed under the same Command as the other EVA pilots."

Skye thought it over before she blushed as her eyes widened. "Yo-you mean where Ikari Shinji... the Third Child is...!?" Seeing the raised eyebrow, she cleared her throat and straightened her posture. "Jus-just wondering, Sir. Professional interest and all that!"

The Commander sighed and fought the urge to rub the bridge of his nose as he remembered the reports as to how... interested she was. 'And she's got those posters from that internet business run by that one student at the Third Child's school...' He then gave her a serious look. "It is." After a moment, he chuckled. "And I expect you to hold to yourself highest level while there."

She nodded with a large grin. "Sir!" He then let head to the shower area, as he ignored the sounds of her bumping into things and people as well as tripping. "Whoops! Sorry! Ah! Pardon me! Eek!"

The Major just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes, it will be much more bloody quiet around here..."

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As he stood out on the balcony, Shinji sighed as he watched various lights as they flickered on and off before the sound off hoofsteps caught his attention. "Hmm? Nightmare?" He watched as Nightmare slowly strode out of the shadows, his head still cluttered with thoughts. 'I know that Misato and them have said that it's only a few weeks, but it's been a year and I still have no idea as to what the relationship between me and Nightmare is. But... But I have to wonder if this is how it feels to have a...'

Seemingly unaware of what Shinji had been thinking, Nightmare continued to walk up until she was beside him. Below her, a pillow appeared as she sat down on it. "So then Little Prince, are you ready yet to head back to the waking world?"

Shinji was silent for a few moments before he sighed and smiled. "I am." He then frowned as he glanced at the alicorn beside him. "Though part of me is going to miss this."

Nightmare laughed a bit before she nuzzled him. "Silly colt. I will always be there for you." She then gestured around them. "And besides that, whenever you fall asleep, you shall return here." Before he could have said anything, though, she continued. "I will say that I am most pleased with how far you've gone, Little Prince." She then looked at him. "I am proud of you."

Shocked by her declaration, Shinji was silent for a few moments before he leaned in and nuzzed her like a colt would normally do to it's mother. The whole time he tried to ignore the wetness around his eyes and how his heart arched a little less. "Th-thank you, mo-Nightmare..." He pulled away and sniffled a bit before he turned away. "That means a lot to me."

While she was pleased with his slip up, she didn't show it as she reached over and forced his head toward her just a moment before her mane drifted over his face as it dried it. "There is no need to thank me, Little Prince." She then smiled. "It is nothing more then the truth." Nightmare than extended one wing over his back as she reached out with one foreleg in a half hug. "And the truth is that I am proud with how well you have done."

The male alicorn just sat there as he leaned into the embrace as he thought back. 'Strange how comfortable I feel like this now.' As he continued to sit there as Nightmare softly nuzzled his mane, he thought back. 'I was so scared when I became an alicorn and I hated her for doing it to me. But now...' Memories of the alicorn beside him as she comforted him, praised him, and was kind to him flashed through his mind. 'Heh. Odd. I was always so uncomfortable as a human, but after I gave it up, I'm now more comfortable then I was and while I may have lost any chance of turning back into a human, I gained other things to make it up...' He reflected back on his changed relationships with Misato, Rei, Ritsuko, as well as Maya, and, most of all, with Nightmare. 'Perhaps... perhaps this time the good outweighs the bad...'

It was then that Nightmare spoke up. "Are you prepared, Little Prince?" He just nodded as the two slowly faded out of view and back to the waking world...

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As Shinji slowly clawed his way back to consciousness, he became aware of various things as his senses switched on one by one. The first was touch which allowed him to feel the softness of the bed below him, the coolness of the sheets, and the dull ache that permeated his body. Then came smell which caused him to nearly gag at the hospital scents around him, though the slight smell of rain nearby canceled that out. Finally his hearing came back which allowed him to hear the various sounds of medical devices around him as well as the sound of a chair shifting. 'Mmm...' He then sighed as he opened his eyes slowly against the glare. "Another familiar..."

However, it wasn't the sight of the ceiling tiles that greeted him, but rather two red eyes in a pale face which was framed by blue hair just inches from his own. Rei blinked as she cocked her head to the side as she regarded the now awake alicorn, their faces just nearly touching. "I am happy to see you awake Shinji-kun." She then noticed his widened eyes and raised an eyebrow as his wings snapped out. "Are you all right, Shinji-kun?"

Shinji did the only thing he could... he yelped as he tumbled out of his bed which scattered the medical instruments around him. "Ow..."

The First Child regarded him for a moment before she softly smiled as amusement flickered across her eyes. 'This is... most humorous...' She then cleared her throat. "Are you hurt, Shinji-kun?"

As he shook his head, Shinji just groaned. "No... just my pride..."

It was then he heard the door fly open as Ritsuko rushed into the room followed by Misato. "What is going on in here..." She then noticed Shinji on the floor, sprawled out with Rei leaning over the bed as she looked completely innocent. "Never mind..."

While Ritsuko nursed her slowly growing headache, she steadfastly ignored Misato as she rushed around the bed and glomped the still recovering alicorn. "SHIN-CHAN! YOU'RE AWAKE!"

After a minute, Ritsuko noticed how Shinji was looking at her as he silently pleaded for help as Misato tried to suffocate him to the best of her ability. "You somehow can survive in space, so no go Shinji..."

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As she sipped at her coffee, Maya watched on screen as the Magi ran through another simulation of a horse as it trotted, then galloped, and then finally started to jump. Maya frowned for a moment before she turned to another screen and typed in some commands as wings appeared and it flapped. 'Hmm... the wings mess up the simulation a bit... but if I can convince Shinji-kun to fly with some sensors on him, then I might... But yes, that might work...'

Her thoughts were interrupted as a throat was cleared behind her and she turned to see one of the sub-lieutenants of the Engineering Division standing there. "Ma'am."

Maya just shook her head and chuckled. "How many times must I tell you, Hiroshi, call me Maya." She smiled as she took another sip. "I'm not that much higher ranked then you."

The man just shuffled from side to side as he rubbed his neck. "Sorry Ma'am, but you are the Second in Command of the Science Divisions, so..." As Doctor Akagi's main assistant sighed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a data stick. "Anyways, this just arrived from NERV Scotland Branch."

As her face lit up in a smile, Maya took it from him and inserted it into one of the terminals and rapidly typed. A few minutes later, the simulation lost it's wings as barding appeared on it. "Thanks, this should help out a lot."

Hiroshi frowned as he watched the simulation run again, the horse doing various speeds and agility exercises. "Can I ask you something, Ma'am?" At her distracted nod as she continued to modify the simulation, he continued. "Why are you looking up horse barding? Er, is it because of the Third... Child?"

Thanks to having been turned away, Hiroshi did not see the anger as it flashed across her face before she shoved it under a lid. "Yes, Commander Ikari asked if I could look into body armor for Shinji-kun so I am." She noticed as the Sub-Lieutenant winced in the slight reflection on her terminal with more then a little satisfaction. "I'm mainly basing it off the old military plugsuits and derivatives that GEHIRN had looked into."

As he blinked, he raised an eyebrow. "Military plugsuits...?"

Maya nodded as she once more modified the simulation on the fly. "Yes." She set down her coffee and grabbed a donut as she took a bite. "Back when the plugsuits were invented by GEHIRN around 2004 or so, the various militaries were interested in whether they could be used as components of body armor or a new form of flight suit. They spent some tens of millions on them, but eventually dropped them as being too expensive as each armored plugsuit would have to be fitted for each individual soldier, raising the price." She then shook her head. "Though the new UN Flightsuits are based on them as are the skinsuits worn by astronauts."

Hiroshi hummed as he thought it over. "So you're using those as a base?"

She nodded as she looked over some data. "Yeah, that's why I needed the information on the barding." Maya then gestured at the screen. "If I use a design based off barding for the armored parts of the plugsuit, along with using ceramics and some of the new liquid armor for the non-armored parts, I think that I can boost the protection quite a bit while keeping the weight low." She then frowned. "I'm thinking of using a HUD projected onto lenses for the helmet though."

The Sub-Lieutenant frowned a bit. "What about weapons?" He then gestured with a hand. "Unless he just uses his telekinetics to move and use them I suppose."

Maya shook her head as she gestured at a screen beside her. "Nope. I got an idea for that as well."

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow at the odd weapon there. "What is that...?"

The Lieutenant just chuckled a bit. "That is the old XM29 OICW. It's not common now, but was used for a while after Second Impact by the Americans." She then typed an a highly modified version came up. "I upped the caliber to 7.62 and added more ammo for both the 25mm Grenade launcher and the automatic rifle." Maya smirked as she leaned back. "Not bad really for a first weapon."

As he looked over the data over her shoulder, his brows furrowed. "Wait... it says something here about servos and A1 Neural Connectors?" He looked over at her in some surprise. "I thought that the A1s only worked with LCL?"

Maya shook her head. "No, LCL just improves the efficency of them." She looked back at him. "The servos will be for the attatched weapons since I'm mounting them on the armor. The A1s are based on a version that was supposed to be used to help soldiers control unmanned turrets, so that should work..." She trailed off as she heard the phone ring before she picked it up. She then answered and smiled before she said goodbye and hung up. "Seems that Shinji-kun just woke up..." Maya then saved her work and stood up after she removed the data stick and logged off. "Now if you'll excuse me, Hiroshi-san, I need to go see him."

She then grabbed one last donut and her coffee before she walked off as Hiroshi watched her leave. After she was gone, he sighed. "Aw man... I just had to talk to her about work instead of asking her out..." He then grumbled as he walked off...

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As she walked into Shinji's hospitalization room, Maya raised an eyebrow at the Major who was grinning widely. However, she didn't need to ask as at that moment she caught sight of Shinji who had such a pitiable expression that part of her wanted to squeal while the other part wanted to giggle. Maya settled for a grin of her own as she leaned over toward Misato. "What's with the expression?"

After she glanced at her, Misato snorted. "Shin-chan just got the word that Rits needs to run him through tests for the next several days." At the bridge bunny's giggles, her grin only widened. "Needless to say, he's not happy..."

The lieutenant nodded for a moment before she whispered. "Though I got to admit, part of me wants to go over there and hug him, what with that expression of his..."

Ritsuko, from where she had stood in front of the depressed Shinji, simply ignored the quiet conversation as she put her foot down. "Now, Pilot Ikari, you will be going through these tests because of what happened." She twitched some as his large eyes got steadily larger as his ears flattened against his head. 'Keep it together Akagi... you are a scientist first, a woman second... don't let him break you... though he does look so pitiable... GAH!' As a mental version of her sprayed the bad thought with a mental spray bottle, Ritsuko cleared her throat before she tilted her head to glare at the clipboard so that she would not need to look at his expression. "You have undergone yet a farther transformation and grown in both size and weight. Therefore we need to put you though farther tests to establish a new baseline."

As she glanced back at him, she internally winced as he increased that look of his. "But Doctor Akagi..."

Misato giggled before she walked over and patted him on his shoulder, noting how his head is now nearly level with her own. "There, there Shin-chan. I'm sure that this time the tests will go by quicker."

Shinji just hung his head as the women once more giggled, Ritsuko now included. "Aw horsefeathers..."

A moment later, he whipped his head around as Maya grinned and wagged a finger at him. "Don't worry, Shinji-kun, Misato-san's right. This time the tests will be quicker." She then winked with her next words having caused his jaw to drop. "After all, we need to clear you fully for school..."

He worked his jaw for a moment before he shouted, unfortunately having tapped into 'The Traditional Royal Canterlot Speaking Voice' as he did so. "WHAT!"

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Shinji sighed as he looked down at the reinforced yoke around his neck and then at the numerous chains that led from it... Chains which would normally be used as anchors for warships. "Is this... really that necessary, Doctor Akagi? I mean..." He then looked behind him and winced at the railcar that the chains attached to where it lay on the tracks. "It all seems a little... extreme if you'll catch my drift..."

With a very odd smile that caused him to shiver, Ritsuko patted him on the shoulder, a part of her mind noted how hard and compact it felt before it filed it away for her report. "Of course it is, Shinji-kun. We have to develop a brand new baseline after all for your pull strength after all."

As she walked away, Shinji heard the voice of Nightmare as she spoke to him in his thoughts. 'Bah! Worry yourself none, Little Prince. For you have all the strength of the Earth Pony now...'

Misato raised an eyebrow as she watched Ritsuko and Shinji. Once the doctor was next to her, she rolled her eyes before she smirked. "Isn't this a bit much?"

Ritsuko frowned in thought as she wiggled a finger in one ear before she looked at where Shinji stood, chained to a railcar full of boxes of shells for the EVAs Pallet Rifles before she turned around and started looking at a clipboard, a smirk that was identicle to her friend's on her face. "Hmm... nope. Not really."

From where she was looking over some readings, Maya sighed. "This is because you still have hearing issues, isn't it? And the paperwork as well..." At Ritsuko's smirk, she shook her head. "That's horrible, Sempai..."

The doctor thought it over some, and then shrugged. "Perks of the jobl"

As Ritsuko wrote something, Misato watched as Shinji strained at the yoke as he dug in his hooves. "Out of curiosity... how much can a horse normally pull?"

Ritsuko thought it over a bit before she replied. "About four tons if they're of a really strong breed."

The purple haired Major then nodded. "And what was Shinji's record the last time?"

As she gave a suffering sigh, Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "About double that at 8 tons. He still won't be able to pull it, Misato. That railcar weighs about 25 tons easy. That's more then triple his last record and far beyond what any living thing that size should be able to pull." She then noted Maya as her eyes widened and the ensuring silence besides some squeaks. "... Please don't tell me that he's actually pulling it..."

Misato then shrugged as she pointed in the direction that Ritsuko's back was turned. "Fine then, I won't tell you that he's pulling it... Oops!" She smirked as Ritsuko turned and saw that Shinji was indeed pulling the railcar, if only slowly. A moment later, a snap sounded through the air and heralded the end for yet another clipboard. 'Too easy...'

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As she walked up beside Shinji, Ritsuko raised an eyebrow as she looked out over the large pit before the group. "Is there a reason why you wanted to come to the landfill, Shinji-kun?"

The alicorn glanced at her before he too looked out over the large area. "Well... this is where all the debris from the battles are tossed, right? Especially what's been close to the positronic rifles." At the look of surprise, he shrugged. "I got interested in what exactly happened with all the debris from the battles. Since the positronic rfiles have a habit of causing the debris from their hits to be mildly irradiated and the debris and cleanup equipment and vehicles used to dispose of the Angels' remains are considered contaminated, they're dropped off here." He then gestured at what looked like a part of Unit-00's melted armor from the 5th Angel. "So... I'm going to put it to use."

After she tapped several keys on her laptop, Maya looked over at him. "The telekinetic lifting test, right?"

Shinji smiled. "Well... among other things..." At the puzzled looked, he smiled before he closed his eyes. 'So this should work, Nightmare?'

He could feel her as she nodded. 'It should, Little One. Just remember that the spell is usually used to heat things, but getting them hot enough will be difficult.'

His horn a light, Shinji nodded. 'Understood...' He then chuckled internally. 'I wonder why getting Ritsuko all flustered is so amusing though...' The alicorn then concentrated. 'Okay... first the small stuff...'

Misato glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. 'I wonder what he's doing...' She then felt something as it whizzed by her face and spotted a nail that was now floating in front of Shinji. "Hmm?" A moment later it began to glow a dull red as other smaller pieces of metal slammed into it. As the reddish glowing orb slowly grew in size, Misato turned to Maya. "How hot is that?"

After she grabbed a thermometer gun, Maya's eyebrows nearly met her head. "Readings are saying that it's nearly a thousand degrees. Hot enough to weld." She then frowned. "Though the time it takes to get the temperature up means it's useless in battle..." The group continued to watch, with Ritsuko twitching every so often, as the orb slowly grew in size. After two hours, Maya looked at her screen again. "The orb has now reached 400 meters in diameter..." She then heard a shattering sound and watched as shards of broken glass flew out of the waste disposal dump and impacted the orb, which caused a layer of slag-like material to form. "Odd..."

As she took a deep breath to calm herself, Ritsuko turned to her assistant. "Odd? How is anything about this not odd!?"

Maya just pointed at the orb. "Why would Shinji-kun be covering that in melted and fused glass? It doesn't make any sense." She then gestured at Shinji in amazement. "And he's still not strained..."

The purple haired Major just snorted. "That's our Shinji, if he's not doing the impossible before lunch, he's doing it before dinner." Several hours later though, she slumped back in a chair. "So bored..."

As she shook, Ritsuko glared at her as she ignored the now massive orb behind her. "Shut... up..."

Misato just rolled her eyes as she gestured at it. "Look at it. He's made this massive.. thing with no reason given." She then shook her head as she crossed her arms. "He just stands there and does things like crush glass and concrete before he adds that to it." She then turned to Maya. "It's what? 900 meters now?"

Maya nodded. "And likely hundreds of thousands of tons." She then looked at it directly and squinted. "Wish that I has some sunglasses though. That white concrete powder and crushed glass is hard on the eyes." The mousey tech then realized something. "Wait... he's stopped?"

That caught the attention of the other two women who turned and looked. Sure enough, nothing else was being added to it. Ritsuko just sighed in relief. "Good job, Shinji-kun. But let it down slowly and..." She then spotted something. "... Why are you smirking...?"

Shinji's smirk then became a grin. "Because I'm not done yet..." Then slowly, the orb slowly began to move upwards. Then it began to accelerate. "..."

As she shielded her eyes as it became a dot, Misato frowned. "How high is it?"

Maya glanced at her screen and then to Ritsuko, whose twitching had become more pronounced. "Currently at 30,000 feet and climbing..." A few minutes later, she looked at the screen again. "A hundred thousand feet and climbing..." As she looked up, Maya frowned. "I guess it's a good thing that we have this area as a no fly zone..." She then cocked her head to the side. "Hmm... the higher it is, the faster it's moving..." She then looked again and nearly boggled. "Six hundred thousand feet..."
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As she laid back on the hood of her car, Misato looked up at a bright star-like object as it slowly crossed the sky. "So... any idea what you're calling the planet's new moon?" She glanced over at Shinji who was dozing a bit. "Shinji-kun?"

He started a bit before he answered. "Hmm? The moon?" The exhausted Alicorn then yawned. "I was thinking of Tsukiyomi... or maybe Artemis myself."

Misato thought it over. "Sounds good..." She then looked over at Ritsuko who was sprawled out, several bottles with her. "Man... there goes my emergency supply..."

Maya just whistled a short tune. "Can't really blame Sempai, Misato-san."

The Major just wagged her finger at her. "None of this 'San' business, Maya." She then snorted. "You earned that much since you haven't been rumor mongering like the rest." Misato then frowned. "Though you are taking this much better..."

As she finished some last data imputs, Maya shrugged. "I work for a top secret paramilitary organization which builds and uses massive, biomechanical titans piloted by school children in order to fight a war against impossible, physics breaking genocidal beings." She then continued in a dry tone. "I'm surprised that Sempai is having issues with coping myself..."

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Hikari was about to leave the room and head for where Asuka waited, when she heard a voice behind her. "Class Representative?" She turned and found herself looking at Rei who watched her with a calm, detached expression. "May I speak to you?"

As she nodded, the Class Representative turned. "Sure, give me one moment and-"

Rei cut her off though as she laid a hand on her shoulder. "May I speak to you without Pilot Soryu?"

Though confused, Hikari gestured at a nearby corner of the room out of range of the others' hearing. As she kept an eye on a slightly annoyed Asuka, she gave her a gesture to go on without her for a bit. Hikari then waited until she was out of sight before she turned and looked at Rei. "Something the matter, Ayanami-san?" She then frowned before she realized what it may have to deal with. "Is there problem with Shinji-kun?"

The blue haired albino slowly tilted her head to the side. "Not a problem, or at the least not at the moment, though issues may develop." She then sighed. "Shinji-kun shall soon be returning to the school to continue his education."

As she beamed partially at one of her favorite fellow students returning and at the warmth in Rei's voice, Hikari shook her head. "I should have known that one of the scientists from NERV would have figured out a way to turn him back..." She trailed off as she caught Rei as she winced slightly. With anyone else, it would have been barley noticeable, but with Rei, she might as well have yelled. "... They did turn him back, didn't they?"

Rei shook her head as a slight spark of sadness crossed her face before it vanished. "No, they have not. It shall be a long time, if ever, before they have found a way to allow Shinji-kun to return to his previous state."

After she grimaced, Hikari looked at her. "That's what you wanted to talk with me about then, him still being a winged... unicorn." She shook her head in disbelief. "I still have issues with even believing that."

As she blinked, Rei glanced around. "Being as you already have knowledge of Shinji-kun's transformation and unlike some have not reacted... in an unacceptable manner, I feel that you may know the answers to some possible issues." As her fellow student winced as she knew what she had been talking about, Rei continued on. "I have concerns as to Shinji's learning environment... especially in light of the fact that he recently underwent a growth spurt."

The class representative just raised an eyebrow. "How much of one are we talking about here..." After she had been told, her eyes widened before she glanced at the seating. "Hmm... yeah, that might be an issue." Hikari then slowly nodded. "I know that we have some specialty seating for those who are much taller or heavier then normal, but nothing like this..."

Rei grimaced. "I was afraid of such."

Hikari just shook it off. "But..." She leaned back in thought. "If I was to take one of the custom chairs for those taller then normal and had it modified... Takahachi-san owes me a favor and he's in the local high school taking metal working..." As she bit her lip, she slowly nodded. "It might work, need some reinforcing though..."

She blinked though as Rei bowed to her. "I thank you for any such assistance that you can give to Shinji-kun, Class Representative."

Her face flushed from the compliment, Hikari bowed back. "Don't worry, Ayanami-san, I'll have a look around and make sure that he's physically comfortable." She then frowned. "But I don't know how much I can help him socially. Some... students might not take things well..."

The Class Representative leaned back a bit as an angry look crossed Rei's face. "They can try, but doing so shall force me to show my... displeasure in regards to such actions..."

Hikari just nodded as she felt some sweat as it dripped down her neck. "Ye-yeah..." After Rei thanked her again and left, Hikari let out a breath of relief. "I thought that Shinji-kun was kidding that time that I overheard him say that Rei is scary when angry..." She then shook her head before she realized something. "I wonder if NERV has any uniforms in Shinji's size..." Hikari then blinked and shook her head. "Who am I kidding? Of course they do! After all, why wouldn't they..." As she left though, she resolved to modify some school uniforms just in case...

__________________________________________________________________________________

Shinji sighed as he stood before the industrial strength hot air dispenser. 'Ah... nothing like a hot shower after sitting in the Evangelion for Sync Tests for a few hours.'

In the back of his mind, Nightmare grumbled some. 'One would think that you would have spoken to her about such things, Little Prince. She is after all one of your mares.' She ignored Shinji as he twitched and shouted within his mind that Ritsuko was not one of his mares. 'Please spare me, Little Prince.'

As he turned it off, the alicorn stallion grumbled. 'Like you're much better with Maya...'

He stumbled some due to her answer. 'Of course I am better with Maya, after all I do not try to hide anything about our relationship... besides those parts that are rather private in any case...' She mentally smirked. 'And I must admit, though not ponies, those three are quite fetching in their own ways.'

Shinji felt his face become heated as he struggled to keep his wings from shooting out. 'Sh-shut it!'

Nightmare just laughed. 'Ah! And yet it is not but the truth, Little One! Why, I bet that with just a small push...'

After he grimaced, Shinji looked in the mirror and saw Nightmare looking back at him. 'Please, that's enough.'

She watched him for a moment and he saw her reflection as it nodded. 'Very well, Little One, but remember... you no longer need to be alone.'

He just grunted as his reflection turned back to normal before he magically slipped on a belt that went across his shoulders and attached his SDAT to it before he walked out to meet Misato and the others. "Hey."

Having heard the slight sadness in his tone, Misato dismissed it as being due to him having continued to overthink about his imminent return to school. "Hey, Shin-chan. Good job with the Sync Test." She frowned as a frustrated Asuka pushed past them, having shot a venomous glare at Shinji. "Unlike some..."

The alicorn just sighed. "She's still angry with me about the scores?"

Misato's silence was enough answer as he shook his head and slipped his in his earbuds, now modified for an horse's ear. After a moment, he turned it on and closed his eyes. After a moment, he heard the opening strings for 'Highway to Hell' and felt the need to dance and sing. Unknown to him, Nightmare leaned back in the mindscape and grinned. 'I had been wondering when this may happen...'

Having heard him as he scrapped a hoof across the floor, Misato turned and opened her mouth as just as Shinji got up on his back legs, his head becoming nearly eight feet above the floor as he belted out a song.

"Living Easy, living free!
Season ticket on a one way ride..."

As she listened, Misato didn't notice her own foot began to tap and she hummed as she watched her charge dance. Nor how those beside her began to do the same. 'Where did Shinji-kun learn English...?'

"Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I'd rather do"

The group slowly felt the need to join him and slowly started to shuffle as he reached the end of the first bit.

"Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too, yeah!"

As he reached the chorus, they jumped in fullout, acting as if the whole thing was choreographed.

"I'm on the highway to hell!
On the highway to hell!
Highway to hell!
I'm on the highway to hell!"

They made their way down the hallway, other random members of NERV getting caught up in it, including the Supreme Commander and Asuka. They walked through the EVA chages in time for the guitar solo... and the EVAs heads began to bob while their AT Fields clashed in flashes of light. Finally, the last bit of the song was finished and Shinji sighed as he fell to all four hooves and walked off. "Huh. That was... invigorating..."

He then walked off in thought and left the group behind as they all blinked and shook it off. Misato watched him turn a corner and looked at Ritsuko who twitched. "Huh, who knew that Shin-chan was such a good singer?"

The doctor looked at her and then turned and walked into an office and locked the door before she screamed in frustration. Fuyutsuki smiled. "Mmm... reminds me of that one summer in Melbourne..."

__________________________________________________________________________________

The SEELE member watched as the almost embryonic looking lump of flesh, the size of a small human child, was lowered into what looked like an insect's cocoon with the top sliced off. "So, we finally have one viable enough to be transported to where we need it."

Beside him, the doctor nodded as the robotic arms pulled away and brought down the top, it screwing into place as one arm went over the seam and sprayed Bakelite to seal it. "Ja, Herr General. We shall soon see the results of our little... shall I say, project?"

The Russian General just sneered. "I care only to see results Doctor. Nothing more."

As he nodded, the Doctor smiled, though it was a cold one. "And so you shall see your results." The two watched as the tube attached to the cocoon, or egg, began to pump a very dark version of LCL into it. After a moment, the General asked about it. "That, herr General, is a specialty type of of LCL that my team has cooked up." His smile slowly widened. "It seems that the hybrid cells are capable of assimilating foreign DNA into them and using it. The LCL contains the genetic material gathered from many creatures on the planet. We cannot be sure, but we believe that by altering the mixture for each one, we may be able to make each creature unique."

Beside him, the member of SEELE allowed himself to grin. "Good! That shall help in preventing any from tracing them back to us..." He then looked down at his ring, which looked as if it was crafted from slightly colored bands of onyx. 'I wonder how well you may do child...'

__________________________________________________________________________________

As Maya leaned back in her chair and cracked her neck with a sigh, she grimaced. 'It's nights like these that make me wonder if being Sempai's assistant is worth it all...' She then reached over for her coffee, the terminals around her emptied of people as it was late at night, or rather early in the morning. Suddenly a humorous thought occurred to her as she felt her lips twitched. 'Maybe I should get an assistant myself... heh, an assistant for the assistant...' Going through the various files, Maya came across one that she had missed. 'Hello, and who are you now...?'

As she read it, she took another sip of coffee. 'So Sempai asked for aerial surveys to determine what Shinji-kun's energy field might have done to the local environs?' She then saw the date. 'And it seems that she forgot to cancel them after the first two...' After a moment, Maya popped a donut hole into her mouth before she opened the files. "Well... might as well have a look..." A quick few minutes of work and she had created a program to compile the surveys and compare them. 'I wonder what the disapation rate of them is...'

It took an half hour, but she got her answer... and it caused her jaw to drop. "What the hell..." She then started going through the internal sensor readings for that time and compared them. As she watched, her eyes widened. 'Okay... Sempai is going to freak out about this...'

Then she noticed something else on the internal sensors. "Make that she's going to blow a gasket if what I am reading is correct..."

________________________________________________________________________________

Three days later, Maya's prediction came true as she showed Ritsuko the data. "WHAT!?" She shook her head in disbelief as she stared at the screen before she turned to the tech. "Are you positive that this is correct?!"

Maya slowly nodded. "That was why I waited for three days before I told you." She sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. "I personally have problems believing it myself... but there we go."

From where she had been looking over Ritsuko's shoulder, Misato gave her a raised eyebrow. "So... for those of us who are not exactly science types... what's the big deal about a colored map of Tokyo-3?"

The blond scientist just shook her head. "Because of what it's showing us." She then tapped the screen. "This was, from what Maya's told me, compiled from the aerial surveys that I ordered done once we could create sensors to measure and observe Shinji's... unique energy pattern." She twitched as Misato whispered magic. "I had been expecting for it to disapate and in so doing, be able to take better stock. But..."

Maya clicked her mouse and the women watched the simulation began. It started with the screen being a very light, nearly unseen pink. But it slowly began to bleed a darker and darker pink from the center of the screen, almost as if a daker liquid was being pumped into tank filled with another. "As you can see, instead of disapating as expected, the field around Tokyo-3 has slowly gained in strength with the most powerful areas being here in NERV HQ, particularly the testing areas and Shinji's quarters."

The purple haired Major hummed as she thought it over. "So... it's being produced by Shinji?"

As she shook her head, Ritsuko felt a headache coming on. "No, it's more like if you left a nuclear reactor exposed and the radioactive contamination from it began to spread. With Shinji in this case being the reactor..." Having spotted the panicked look from Misato, she waved her hands. "Not that we're in any danger. Nothing that I have seen or tested shows it to be harmful to life."

Maya then deadpanned. "And besides, if it was deadly the three of us would know." The other two turned to look at her. "Here, let me bring up the internal sensors." After a moment, she did so. "The three of us and Rei have somehow absorbed a massive amount. If Shinji-kun was the sun and his energy field the light, we'd show up like candles..." She then brought up the EVA cages. "And the EVAs would look like car headlights."

As she peered at the screen, Ritsuko stood up straighter. "Wait, the Evangelions are absorbing it?!"

Her assistant nodded. "As if it were water and they're a sponge." She then gestured at a nearby cage. "As for it's deadliness, Sempai and me already used a mouse for a test subject. From what we can see, there is no effect on it, which would have shown up a lot sooner then in a human."

Misato just gave a theatrical sigh. "Oh well... no superpowers for me." She then gave a pout as she looked at her hands. "And here I was so looking forward to being able to grow in size and strength as well as turning green when I got angry..."

Ritsuko just slapped her face. "Dammit Misato..."

Comments

[Snow123]

Lol. Okay, I do like that Superwomen of Eva reference at the end.

Sheesh, I guess Shinji will have to have a challenge eventually... Still, I'm looking forward to his first day of school as a horse/pony.

[Humanist]

"There is a perfectly logical, normal, and most importantly, scientific explanation for what he did and for what I am seeing..."

Well... Yes. Yes there is. It just unfortunately got assigned the label of "magic".

If only Ritsuko wouldn't get so distracted by the fact that they are calling the new weirdness "magic"... I mean, if they had just called all of the weird shit Angels did "magic" would she have lost her shit just as much? Well, probably, and that's kind of the problem.

Ritsuko, just give magic a more "sciency" label if it really bothers you that much. You aren't going to make much progress in understanding it if you have already convinced yourself that it doesn't exist. Seriously, just mentally classify it as something like a new kind of AT Field dickery if you need to.

As for the group singing stuff... Did nobody connect it with the spread of "magic" from Shinji? And why is nobody there freaking out at the apparent mind-control Shinji and/or the magic itself is exerting? You'd think everyone would be seriously freaking out about that, no matter how benign it appears to have been so far.

[ssokolow]

I didn't really find Ritsuko's over-the-top behaviour at the beginning entertaining in this chapter (it felt forced) but, aside from that, another great chapter.

As usual, I enjoy the amount of work you put into details like Maya's modification of the new plugsuit with manipulatory aids and armor.

I'm split on where you'll take the neurally-controlled weapons mounts. On the one hand, I have no idea how it could be done without taking things in, at best, a weird direction but, on the other hand, it's you. You've never botched things before.

Generally speaking, your interactions between Shinji and others are as good as ever and your focus on Maya gives me hope for eventually seeing a satisfying amount of focus on her reaction to discovering that she's been dating an exiled alien goddess who hasn't quite solved the whole "body of her own" part yet.

I'm also looking forward to seeing what you've got planned for the new moon Shinji created... and now for the obligatory pseudo-witty remark: Well, that's one way to justify an alicorn having the ability to move the moon in a non-fantasy cosmology. (Seriously, though, very clever and original solution... but then, you're also the only author I've ever seen to do a satisfying job of turning a human into an alicorn.)

You did make a lolcat-esque typo though:

Wish that I has some sunglasses though.

It's always nice to see interactions between Rei and others and I'm looking forward to seeing how things turn out when the other students are confronted with one of their classmates being a winged unicorn for the forseeable future.

I'm not sure what you're planning with SEELE's attempts, but I'm hoping that their "genetic material gathered from many creatures on the planet" will end up creating things like chimeras, hydras, or other appropriately MLP-esque monsters. Otherwise, it'll be more difficult for you to get away with throwing challenges at Shinji without eroding the feel that I like so much about this story. (That the real conflict is the character development and, though they don't realize it, SEELE is just there to provide speed bumps and mix things up a bit.)

As for the radiation coming off Shinji... if that's magic as I suspect, then you've really got some room to make things interesting. (Though I hope you don't make Earth too interesting. Even if it's in a time-skipped epilogue or an oversized omake, I'd really like to see Celestia and Luna reacting to Nightmare Moon being alive, mellowed out, and with a son and girlfriend. That'd be fun to watch.)

Oh, the musical number with the head-bobbing EVAs was fun too... especially with Fuyutsuki's comment. Also, is that a Derpy expy I see?

[Jlargent]

"And here I was so looking forward to being able to grow in size and strength as well as turning green when I got angry..."

Nah, Askura is more inclined for that job than Misato.

[OrpheusDefense]

Oh how I weep for Rits's sanity right about now....and the moment is over. Now I'm just laughing at it!

[Obsidian Quill]

ROFL!
Best chapter yet, Shinji making a moon and making a pinkie parade with all of Nerv, singing "highway to hell" Also the Superwomen tid bit at the end was awesome. The best was HUMAN DERPY! she and Shinji need to play video games when she get over there. Anyway while its not the new Chapter of Widening the Lens, this was still cool. keep it up!

[sdarian]

Then came smell which caused him to nearly gag at the hospital scents around him, though the slight smell of rain nearby canceled that out.

Unless there is a fan hidden somewhere, both of the smells should be present at the same time. If one causes him to nearly gag, then another smell being present shouldn't cancel it out, but should rather distract from or cover the smell instead.

[NachoTheBrony]

Thanks for updating.

[Alanith]

Not!Ditzy Doo being British? Sir, you views intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Nightmare Wolf]

Yesss! An update! Now only new chapter for the "The Wizard and the Lonely Princess" and maybe "Widening the Lens" and I'm at the Heavens gate.
I can't wait to see first contact of Derpy with Shinji. Will she yell "Pony" and glomp him?

BTW. Theres many small errors with spelling; to many to drop them here; so someone should check it.

[UseFistNotMouth]

Ah so probably one more character chapter, then the daevas come out to play?

[Trotting Madness]

I am disappointed, I was hoping that you were a good enough author to not fall into a common trap. Having some characters being unable to stay in character or cut them out of the story or bash them. I seen it in all kinds of fics. Looks like you fell for it too, I know it's an easy way out but just cutting characters out or only bashing them when they show up is a sign of week writing and I was hoping you were better than that. Oh well I know that people get better over time, so I'll keep on watching.

[Brother_Thorn]

I did not see the spontaneous dance number coming, so I give you congratulations for surprising me.

[Ranakastrasz]

3337913

Yep, thats the problem with the corruption of Science heroes these days.

A long time ago, back when science was, well, not considered evil, and people WANTED their kids to grow up and be scientists, or at least saw it as acceptable....
Well, Back then, science was something good. Now, not so much. With Nuclear power being terrifying, due to it being weaponized, and extremely poor management resulting in disasters, well, its not that surprising people overreact and label nuclear power and evil. Science being linked to that hurts it as well.

Anyhow, as a result of all that, you no longer get any scientists in fiction. You get people who are called scientists, but they arn't. Scientists need to be able to learn something new, which they do not understand. When you declare something impossible, then you already failed.

Even Twilight Sparkle, In MLP Canon, suffers from this. She isn't a scientist either, just a hollywood scientist....

Anyhow, in real life, if someone were able to use telekinesis, or make a forcefield, say, then you would not, as a real scientist, declare it impossible. You would say "This seems impossible, how the hell does that work?". Then, you would do experiments to determine how it works under different conditions, get information on how it works, and find a way to reproduce or alter it. Crafting theories, discarding those that do not match the data. Etc, etc.

If you are stuck on the term "Magic", which usually means "Something explainable, or immune to science", then use something else. Evangeline uses AT-Fields. Starwars uses the "Force", as well as Hyperspace. You get Psionics, Warp, Biotics, Magic, Thamancy, Arcane Science, Nanites, Radioactive, and like a dozen other names for such. Regardless, all of them are simply literary licence, altering the laws of physics to support a story.

The key is, that if any of those were to exist, a real scientist would treat it like anything else they didn't understand (yet), and figure it out.

So, hopefully, Ritsuko can drop the whole "Terminology" issue, and treat it like any other part of the universe. You do not point to a part of the universe, and say "That does not exist". If you point at a boulder rolling towards you, and declare it to not exist, it will still crush you flat. Instead, accept the evidense, and move out of the way.
/Rant.

*Three Examples of real scientists in fiction (fanfiction), instead of Hollywood scientists.
~Harry Potter Methods of Rationality.
~Dungeon Keeper Ami
~Project Stardust

[Blazing Shadow]

Daaaaaaaaaaamn. Shinji's in da house. Are the farm animals In the area gonna start talking soon?

[Blood Brandy]

Ah, yes, and we see the Spirit of the Derp transcends even the barriers of the Dimensions, and is possibly even farther reaching than the power of Discord.

Speaking of Discord, I'm callin it, those test-tube clone things are gonna be some sort of powerful chimera...

[Thespurgin]

3343101 what farm animals? therebuild movies displayed that pretty much all the fish in the sea are dead, and with the cataclysms following I2, it's sensible that the majority of land and air based animals took a massive hit too. I'd bet on hydroponics farms and synthmeat being the main course.

[Harry Leferts]

3337846
Thanks, I've read that series of fics and were unsure how many would get the reference. As to Shinji getting a challenge... that is what the DEVAs are for.
3337913
Ritsuko... has a very good reason to have a major amount of disdain for "Magic" and anything of the supernatural. A disdain that she shares with her mother. It'll be coming up soon.

As for the crowd singing, people are slightly freaked, but have not connected it with Shinji quite yet. And if you think that is the only weird thing going on in Tokyo-3, well... just wait and see.
3338037
Well, like I said, Ritsuko does have her reasons. As to SEELE, I made a Blog post with a preview of examples of those. The "Radiation" is indeed magic and there might be come interesting things coming, but remember that Earth never had magic before as far as anyone knows.

The weapon mounts are actually based both on some Evangelion stuff and real world examples from DARPA (yes, they're working on weapon turrets that you can control with your mind).
3338152
Thank you. You'll find out more about Skye in the next chapter actually.
3338248
Okay, I'll go back and fix that then. Though the rain smell is coming from Rei, who was right over him hence why it overcame the hospital smell.
3339401
Yup.
3340142
I can't have Asuka just change her attitude overnight you know. And this is rather exactly how she acted in the series not to mention that at this point, Asuka is undergoing a major psychological breakdown. I am going to deal with it in about three chapters.
3342782
I'll have to disagree with you on two points. A lot of scientists react badly when something pops up that throws out a whole bunch of established theories or seems to, it does take attitudes to change things.

Also, HPMoR is horrible at showing science. The author, Yudkowsky is obsessed with "Rationality" to the point where he states that various physics scientists are wrong because he can point out where their irrational in their theories, despite not having any training in those subjects.
3343879
Ah... you're even closer then you think...
3345984
... Rebuild has nothing to do with this universe, especially as it is mostly Anno trolling the entire fandom on purpose. Especially considering 3.0 and what happened there...

[Ranakastrasz]

3348144

Hmm, True. Anyone does react badly there.

And yea, Lesswrong has issues. And plenty of flaws do exist in the fanfic. It is still seems a lot more valid than other fictions manage.

Doubtless still inaccurate tho.

[Humanist]

3348144

Ritsuko... has a very good reason to have a major amount of disdain for "Magic" and anything of the supernatural

Doesn't she technically work with the supernatural every day?

I'll have to disagree with you on two points. A lot of scientists react badly when something pops up that throws out a whole bunch of established theories or seems to, it does take attitudes to change things.

That makes them bad scientists, in my opinion. Or at least, not someone who would be in the position of Ritsuko in Eva, i.e. someone who has to study/deal with apparently physics breaking technology/creatures pretty much all of the time. If she was someone who was set in her views of how the universe was SUPPOSED to be, then she sure as hell wouldn't be working for NERV.

[Harry Leferts]

3348277
Yeah, we can see examples of this throughout history, even in the recent decades. Every time something groundbreaking is discovered, it takes years of serious study before it is generally accepted by the greater scientific community.
3348414
She does and she does not. Metaphysical Biology (which is what the Angels and EVAs involve) is a long established science in NGE. Fuyutsuki was the chair of Metaphysical Biology at Tokyo University years before Second Impact. Misato's father's theory on S2 engines was around several years before 2I, and so forth. Magic (and the supernatural which is something unexplainable by known science) here is something entirely out of her experience and anyone else's, and like I said, there's a reason in her past for her derision towards the idea of "Magic".

[Humanist]

3348511
It just seems kinda silly to me, considering that what she has devoted her life to working with and understanding is something that was just as "supernatural" as magic a relatively short time ago (or so I assume anyway, I am not sure just how far back the Eva timeline diverges). If you showed an outside observer (i.e. someone from our universe) the Evas and the Angels and the assorted AT-field bullshit they'd call it magic. Same thing with the magic of the ponies. Meanwhile in both cases,those within the setting have a scientific understanding of their respective "supernatural" stuff.

Actually, I suppose that means Ritsuko and Twilight are really quite similar: Twilight works with and understands the established "magic" of her setting, but loses her shit when confronted with Pinkie Pie's abilities. Likewise, Ritsuko works with and understands the established "magic" of her setting, but loses her shit when confronted with Shinji's abilities. I still think that makes them both pretty shitty scientists, but I suppose by that standard a lot of people are pretty shitty scientists...

I am looking forward to seeing the backstory of Ritsuko's dislike of the word "magic".

[yrfoxtaur]

- Discord analog test tube baby
- crowd singing
- misato bemoaning her inability to hulk out.

longer term, I hope shinji doesn't go all ozymandias on everybody. Ennui is a terrible thing in a godlike being.

also, I like the new moon. although...
"that's no moon. that is a kinetic kill weapon waiting for launch codes."

[Valhallen]

A few technical things that caught my eye:
A 25-ton rail car takes much less than 25 tons of force to pull. Steel wheels on steel rails are far more efficient than carriage wheels on dirt or rubber wheels on concrete in this regard, and individual humans have pulled things like aircraft weighing 130 tons. A reasonably fit human adult should be able to pull a 25-ton rail car on level rails without extraordinary effort, and warship anchor chains are severe overkill.
Steel melts at around 1500 degrees C, and during welding gets somewhat hotter (liquid steel glows a brilliant yellow-white). A thousand degrees (assuming Celcius) can be hot enough for forge welding, but these days that's only used for niche applications, and if Maya was considering other niche welding techniques, "hot enough to weld" includes room temperature.
A 900-meter-diameter ball built over (say) eight hours requires adding the equivalent of about a 29-meter-diameter ball of stuff per second, and using steel and concrete, it would weigh on the order of a billion tons (1.28 billion if using the Moon's density), and would require by far the largest landfill in the world to fuel.
The Moon is actually extremely dark, with an overall albedo comparable to asphalt, and moondust looks a lot like charcoal dust rather than crushed glass and concrete.

[Pinklestia]

So... is someone else gonna turn into a pony?

[Nihatclodra]

Dat dance number.

[Tammin162]

I loved the use of the Heartsong, and the potential implications of a Discord like enemy is worrying.

[MWKillKenny84]

Misato just gave a theatrical sigh. "Oh well... no superpowers for me." She then gave a pout as she looked at her hands. "And here I was so looking forward to being able to grow in size and strength as well as turning green when I got angry..."

... someone here has read Superwomen of Eva?