An ancient war machine is awakened by an enemy attack. Can it survive alongside this strange new world, or must one or the other end its existence in fire and thunder?
Crossover with Keith Laumer's Bolo-verse
Inspired by Legacy
Note: This story has been rewritten, in-place. If you're a fan of the original, it can be found here (Google Drive).
... Yes, this new version has a Google Doc behind it, like every other one of my stories. No, I will not be sharing a link.
Cancelled 3/18/19, for too much similarity (in situation or in path) to Iron Mountain, Secret Search, and Secret Soldier.
Chapters (12)
Heh. That's not a good sign. Good thing Bolos are patient, and that for reasons of plot there'll surely be a way to get more power soon (because audiences are less patient).
For this and your other Bolo stories, I suggest more diplomatic solutions involving their other abilities, such as the nanites or communications, than firing several gigatons of plasma at the problem, fun as it might be. I will admit that there has to be some kind of challenge, even if it's just finding where to aim.
8800779
Yes, Bolos are patient, and audiences are not- but who's to say I have to write every one of them? All them nearly-a-million days add up to roughly 2.1 millenia (2165.7 years, to be exact)- and that little cleared rock approximately doubled production... Any thoughts who that stallion was?
Given the apparent time lapse, it seems not unlikely to be Starswirl, the sufferer of either extreme excess facial fur or a mane on the wrong side of his head.
Ooh, interesting. That's a rather neat approach to the introduction. I suspect that the Bolo will be rather suspicious of that map, though...
Are you planning a crossover with one of your other books with Bolos in the EqG world?
The explanation for how that happened might strain even cybernetics, though...
8802583
Mm, I'm afraid I'm not planning that kind of crossover. Though, EqG is clearly cannon in this story. Maybe I'll try a multi-perspective story setup at some point... Donno, not enough ideas to do that right now
And yes, that is the introductory approach I selected. Yes, the Bolo will likely be very suspicious of the map, when he hears about it.
That's rather interesting. Not sure if it was my suggestion from earlier or not, but it's neat to see that her animal-talking ability allows her to converse with the spiders (or at least know what they meant).
A lightning gem is pretty useful.
I really wonder about the Bolo's power usage, though. How does it barely have enough power to stay awake, yet can make enough soon to start the reactors? I imagine that ANY method of starting a fusion reaction has to be really power-hungry...
I see that the "illness" is being kept, though. What is it this time? Are you keeping it radiological?
8803096
Yes, that lightning gem is pretty useful...
The problem with his power grid is that all his processors and repair tasks are pretty power-hungry- and he's got about as much power production as your fridge uses, when it's on. Yes, that's quite a bit more than a regular, modern computer, and power efficiency engineering has to be in there someplace- but so? He's trying to work God knows how much repair activity alongside one of the biggest (and most processor-intensive) programs in history: AI! Thus, he has a limited amount of power- and, currently, has to go into standby mode for five hours for every one he spends active. Where 'active' means both processors and repair activities. If he stops one or the other, he can run the other longer without diverting to standby- but not indefinitely, unfortunately.
And yes, any fusion reactor ignition aught to be power-hungry- but if he's fast enough, he might be able to ignite it in a less-than-standard method. Convince just a few atoms to fuse in the middle of the reactor field, without deploying the containment field... Produce power. Yes, there's outbound wind- so long as he keeps the levels down, he could theoretically keep it going this way indefinitely; the only problem would be the gradual thermal increase in the area and across his entire hull; it wouldn't be long before he was cooking himself alive. However, even this kind of activity produces more than it uses- so it wouldn't take him long before he could start spinning up the containment field and bringing the reactor up for real, to normal power levels- with all excess heat contained and absorbed. In short, Fluttershy might see some glow and feel some hot air, but she's far enough away to be safe. Even directly above. Again, once the thing is running, the problem is no longer power supply... But nanite/spider quantity. Fortunately, those things can be simply manufactured.
Yes, the medical problems are being kept- and yes, the cause is still the same. I think.
Huh. She didn't know where the fireworks came from either, right? That is strange...
8812751
Yep, she doesn't remember packing any either. I do know where they came from, though... That'll be a reveal for an upcoming chapter.
Throwing a grenade out of an "indestructible" door after opening and closing it rapidly makes me laugh. It's very video-game-mechanics abuse logic.
8812931
Yes, definitely. Though, this time the door is technically destructible... Though the duralloy is thick enough the low-power grenade doesn't pack enough punch to damage it. Plus, the pressure will be vented (eventually, at least) through the still-open path to outside, through that cave... making it a viable tactic.
There's also the part about explosives in a confined space (that can withstand the overpressure, at least). As I recall, in real life, those have a tendency of creaming everything, not just that in its immediate vicinity. I don't know anything real about that... But- given where he put it, presumably the wolves were close together- those things should be screwed, right?
It's been a while, hasn't it?
Glad to see you back.
I like the newspaper trick. Cute.
Good development speed so far; it looks like this one might be more stable (sorry about the pun).
...NOT SORRY AT ALL, and you have to catch me first! HAHAhahahahahahahahah
8840540
Pun? What pun? Of course it's stable, I just have to get it out of the stockades. Just like the loaderkill we had at Lowe's yesterday....
Anypony that doesn't work at Lowe's probably doesn't know the parking lot associates are called 'Loaders'... and anypony that doesn't work at the specific store I do probably doesn't know we had five loaders on duty, alongside enough work for one.
Sorry, I'm in one of those moods right now. Not good, not bad, just punny. Doesn't help I'm bad with puns... and humor in general, usually.
8840556
Not that I recommended this if anyone asks, but go look up the song called "Pierre and Marianne" by Heather Dale. It has puns. One HUGE one, right at the end.
8840729
Um..... Nah. It's no fun if it's just to make a pun.
8840795
It's cute. You have to hear it. It's a pretty good song, too.
It's rarity
I would guess it is Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops because of her Cannon work as special agent
8844767
... She did specifically note the "five greeting the one" last chapter- and that Rarity was one of the ones she's observing.
8844937
Don't hold your breath- this is an AU fic, not just a crossover. Either way, good guess!
Its Lyra bon-bon makes candy and has access to tech to create a secret room, lyra lives with her annd bon-bon is agent sweetie drops so she is away on work all the time, plus lyra is a unicorn...am i wrong?
Nice one. I too believe I have guessed the pony in question, especially after having read your other stories.
Who could it possibly be, given that she's friends with a spy and wants to be one?
The only hint you didn't drop was that she's probably green. :D
I do like the way this is going.
It also ties in very well so far, and it's hilarious that she's disguised as a literal background character, specifically Dr. Whooves.
(I wonder if he's actually a real pony here, or just her disguise? If he IS real AND the Doctor, which would be funny, I do suggest that you only make references to his cases or deploy him in one arc, since a time lord is arguably more OP than a bolo, though.)
Oh, no. Lyra as commander?!
(Cue poor-quality mafioso voice) "Tell me more about these ... hands."
Also, how do you keep writing and posting these without me ever managing to catch you writing them? How am I supposed to help? Argh! :D
8847796
MUAHAHAHAHA
8847837
I can't tell which one you are laughing so evilly about. I suppose it doesn't matter much; the first one cracks ME up...
8848620
How about both? 
Oh crap, it's official!
Next chapter: Care and Feeding of Mythological Creatures?
It's interesting having it be not from the Bolo's perspective. It keeps a lot more of the questions unanswered if the narrator is not the next thing to omniscient.
Oh, won't the others be so surprised...
*laughs out loud* Lyra just showed up at her own funeral didn't she?
8857088
Sounds like it. That's going to be awkward to explain, for both sides...
I wonder what was up with the muggers, though. Why does that give me a bad feeling...?
'Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.'
8858039
Mmm, I like that idea.
Of course, I also like the ideas for the delivery that struck the moment I read that....
8858219
Mark Twain always did have a flair for memorable phrases.
To be honest, even after you say that, I just can't get myself interested in Secret Search or Secret Soldier based on their synopses.
(Which may be for the best, since it suggests that the elements of this story which I care about are elements you don't consider key to the concept and would probably have drifted away from anyway.)
I'm sad to see another Bolo crossover die. There is just so few of them and most are never going to get completed.
9514194
Yeah, very true. This one was cancelled for similarity to the three because it started too close to Iron Mountain to be rewritten (at the same time as the other), yet it had drifted far too close to Secret Search and Secret Soldier to be anything new. Sure, it hadn't actually reached that point... but that's definitely where it was going.
9514567
Yeah, me too. Fortunately, though, I've got a good number of them- and a lot of them aren't dying.
Ah, so that's what happened here.
I forget the name, but do you plan to continue the one where Twilight runs into the Bolo during the Night That Lasts Forever?
9515180
Good to know. I keep looking for more but all I get from the search engine is the same 5 that I have read. All but 1 are dead now.
9515485
Yep- so far as I'm aware, there's those five, plus my fifteen or so.
9515265
You mean Mount Nightmare? Yep, that's #2 in my queue (now), behind Crashland: Equestria.
9515485
You know of five? Any chance I could get a listing? I'm fairly sure I don't know that many, unless they are mostly Computerneek's work.
9516453
Two of the five might be mine....
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/206827/folder/39953/bolo
That group's got three- Legacy, Sacrafice of the Knight Bolo, and A Legacy of War- that aren't mine. The last of those three, I'm really not impressed by, but the middle one- despite being a one-shot- is very well done.
But I'm also curious what 5 those are, with that description...
9516527
might I redirect you to a group that I started a while back for bolo stories? Keith Lumen Boloverse
9770740
Well... it so happens I've seen that one before. And it's got only four that aren't mine, too...
9770750
if you find any more bolo stories, feel free to post them there, do you have plans for any more bolo stories?
9516453
have this group link Keith Lumen Boloverse
9771023
Will do! I don't presently have significant plans for another Bolo crossover...
Though I have the beginnings of no less than five more, not yet near publishable length...
And did you know, I have a total of 15 Bolo stories published on this site? (One of which the Bolo only has a camo appearance, and won't be identifiable)
... I also happen to notice I appear to be the second member to join the group, over a year ago...
The odd things you notice in delirium.
Heh, whoops. Smashed a spider!
Hehe, that darn map. So conniving.
Mission accomplished! You can go home now-- oh wait... 😁
Pinkie!!!