//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: The first prototype // Story: Rise of the Crystal Emperor // by Navanastra //------------------------------// Chapter 19: The first prototype Edited by: Regreme “Your highness. A few of the changeling nobles have returned from their city wide trip, including the princess herself. They are waiting for permission to enter the Palace as we speak,” a guard announced as he stepped into the throne room. The emperor looked up from the scrolls he was reading. “Is that so? Very well. Let them into the Palace. I would like to personally hear their comments about their personal experiences around the city. I am sure their minds would be much easier swayed towards my offer after having seen and most likely tasted the atmosphere around here,” the emperor responded, to which the crystal guard simply nodded before hurrying back to the Palace Gates. With him gone, the Emperor simply returned to his casual reading session of a couple of scrolls which he had acquired this morning with the help Ruby, his scribe and personal assistant, scrolls which tell the history and certain past events of the crystal empire, and whatever else could be useful to know from his point of view. According to some of the information he has read so far, the crystal ponies actually originated from deep underground, once building and possessing wide expanding underground cities and long wide tunnels that connected them for many, many kilometers. They were also known experts in both crystal magic and old metallurgy at the time, similar to the dwarfs of his world, minus the magic of course. It was also stated in these scrolls that a secondary sub race of the crystal ponies existed as well, simply known as Crystal unicorns, who were the ones responsible for crystal ponies aforementioned crystal magic and crystal forging. They were hailed as one of the best enchanters during their day, as enchanted crystal weapons, armors or even jewelry were known to be the most powerful and most potent once at their time, depending on the type of enchantment and item it had been placed on. It is too bad that the limited numbers of crystal unicorns that still exist during Sombra’s take over and rule were all killed off, otherwise, having access to such talented enchanters would certainly benefit him and his goals in expanding the reach of his otherwise city state like nation which he was leading at the moment. Besides that, some of these scrolls even accounted that the Crystal Empire truly was an empire once in ancient times, where it actually got its name from. But just like with every great power in history, it, too, eventually collapsed under its own weight, from both internal and external forces putting pressure on it as the decades past. Overall, a very interesting history lesson, if he had to say to himself. The only mystery he can ask himself so far is, what exactly forced these ancient crystal ponies to abandon their underground dwellings and build their future cities on the surface instead? Maybe some form of natural disaster and underground invasion of unknown origins? Frankly, he doesn’t know, and furthermore, it doesn’t exactly matter too much for him to actually know at this current state of position and situation. All he needed to focus on now was to eliminate the crystal ponies’ biggest weakness: Their limited number, and also the fact that the aforementioned changelings from before finally arrived into the throne room. All of them looking quite in awe at the architecture surrounding them, most likely just gazing up at the crystals, which this Palace is primarily made of. The emperor ignored their wondrous expressions, as he was more interested in their upcoming response about the offer he made two days ago. He was very eager to have these shape shifting flying mages be part of his empire, both to bolster his numbers and to have productive citizens, not to mentioned acting as possible soldiers or even infiltration forces, too. Shapeshifters do make excellent spies, after all. The emperor casually made his way down from his throne, meeting up with the princess and her noble escorts at the very center of the hall, where their attention finally switched towards the emperor. “By the heavens, never before have I felt so full in my whole life. I didn’t even know that my magic reserves could be so high, not to mention being able to sustain my flight indefinitely without feeling a link of exhaustion. This place is amazing,” the princess stated, her disbelief and excitement quite evident in her voice. The emperor mentally smiled at that as it obviously meant that their minds were prime for the offer he was about to repeat to them. Now, all he needed to do is ask the question again and see if they accept this generous offer for a much better life and place in this world. He decided to get this part of his massive list of things to do checked up, as he has something else to attend which is as equally important and even a bit exciting for him, but that thought had to wait for a bit. “Anyway...” he began, “Are you now ready to accept my offer? As you have experienced yourself, in my nation, you will no longer hunger. You will have all the energy and love you will ever need and then some. You will also be able to sustain your power and position over your fellow changelings, as well, as you and your fellow nobles will be accepted as equal towards the nobles of the crystal empire. Being part of the council and so on,” he stated before giving it a little break for them to think it over. “So...what say you now?” he eventually added after a couple of minutes. The nobles looked to each other. Their mental conflict evident in their expressions, though those thoughts quickly subsided as they all started to look a bit more relaxed, more confident in their possible decision. The princess sighed. “We would be fools to deny such a golden opportunity, if not for ourselves, then at least for the nymphs and future generations. To no longer hunger and starve for energy...” she responded before glaring up at the Emperor. “But still, we want you to still somehow compensate us for the death of so many guards by your hoof and that of your bat winged companion, something which could give their deaths a little bit more respect instead of allowing them to be forgotten,” she added, sounding quite stern. Mateus nodded. “No problem. There is an awful amount of unused land outside the city’s borders and still within the magical barriers that protects it from the harsh weathers outside. We can easily construct a cemetery for those fallen, with their personal item and remains buried there, along with their names etched on their tombstones.” the emperor suggested. One of the nobles nodded. “Well, okay, not how we changelings commemorate our deceased, but it is a start. We accept your offer. We shall be part of your nation and your plans. We changelings are now part of your empire,” he stated with no hesitations or rejections from his fellow nobles. “Very well. In that case, welcome to the empire. If there are any changelings that wish to move here, then tell them that they are free to do so. New housing spaces are both being repaired and built as we speak, so a shortage of living space will certainly not be an issue,” the emperor suggested, which caused the princess to think. “Is it then possible to move the entire hive here, then? You said that there was more than enough space inside and outside the city’s limits. If not, then we could just easily dig ourselves some underground dwellings to live in. We are very professional diggers, after all,” the princess requested, which was met with curious looks by her fellow kin. The emperor raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that so? I would personally suggest to wait for the infrastructure to be built first, before you all start moving thousands of changelings over here. Plus, it would also be smarter for the population to allow itself to get used to the idea of having a second race living alongside them. From what I understand, the majority of the crystal ponies seemed to be ok with this idea, with friendly interactions between both sides already starting, from what I heard. But still, let's not rush things. One thing at a time,” Mateus stated, which was a bit disappointing. “Well, I guess that makes sense. Though, just for the record, it really isn’t too difficult for us to move an entire hive from one location to the next, thanks to the hive mind link we all share,” the princess stated. “Anyways, feel free to explore the Palace as you will. I personally have another appointment to attend to which requires my attention. I will see you this evening then, at the dining hall. Just ask any random guard where it is, in case you don’t stumble upon it during your explorations,” Mateus suggested before moving past the changeling nobles. “Actually...” the princess called out, which forced Mateus to stop. He stopped. “Yes, what is it?” he asked. “Is it ok if we come along instead? I really haven’t done much sightseeing around the city, as me and the rest here were too busy enjoying the energy this Crystal Heart of yours was radiating. Would that be fair?” she requested, which caused Mateus to hum. He began to mentally weigh the possible effects it might have for these changelings to see exactly what he was planning to do so early in modernizing the Crystal Empire’s military. Though if the changelings are really going to be part of his new nation, then it would make sense to introduce some new military reforms as well, creating new specialized branches for each race, like how he is planning to have a mechanized MagiTech armor brigade pretty soon. That is, if the finished prototype Cid has managed to build is even capable of functioning the way he designed it too, which is the main reason for Cid’s invitation. Either way, he eventually decided that letting them see some of the technologies he is planning to introduce to these ponies is not something to either hide or worry about in the foreseeable future. In fact, letting them know earlier and educate them in both their uses and operations is most certainly going to save him and future instructors a lot of time trying to get these changelings up to snuff in terms of MagiTech armor design and whatever else he has personally cooked up on his drawing boards. He hummed. “Well, alright. You can all come along if you fancy so,” the emperor responded, to which was followed up with a simple nod from the princess. The emperor accepted silently and just led the way, with the rest following of course alongside a couple of his throne room guards for security reasons. The Emperor himself might have accepted these outsiders into his realm, but that doesn’t mean his guards should ever let their guard down, even towards their own kind. “Emerald.” “What?” the emperor responded while looking at the so called princess. She sighed. “Emerald is my true name, in case my fake title is going to get silly or something, because I am not a princess nor do I act like one most of the time. I am just a noble, after all, and not really royalty,” she explained. The Emperor simply raised an eyebrow to this sudden introduction but accepted it. Better to know someone’s name instead of just having to go with a title, though the same thing could be said with himself, as most also just know him off his title instead of his actual name. But that didn’t matter, as most would just address him by his title anyway, out of respect and so on. ............................................................................................................................................. “Alright. Now, keep the pressure within the valves stable and make sure to keep an eye on the dials. This is only going to be a test run, so no need to fill up the tanks to the brim just yet!” Cid shouted. Today was the day. After a few days of non-stop work crafting, literally, testing and assembling everything together to the emperor’s plans, it was finally done. A first working (hopefully) prototype of a mechanized walker fueled by refined oil and magic respectively. The magic portions mostly came from the heavy enchanted crystal embedded into its core, which also acts as its main energy source for its weapons. It channels its energy through focused lenses inside its mechanized maw in the form of either a fire beam, ice beam or even a lightning beam, depending on the setting. The entire machine was somewhat built to resemble a drake. With large, strong and complex looking legs keeping its main frame above the ground, while also acting as its main source of movement. The same was done with the machine’s large feet, which were built to house large movable claws to give it significant grip on almost every surface. Same with its overall legs structure. The body and head were also somewhat shaped to mimic that of a large reptilian creature, especially its head, where both the pilot control and its main magical laser were located. Other than that though, that’s where the similarities of your typical drake end, as its design doesn’t include two sets of forearms or a tail. Adding forearms would just be messing with the already well established balance and purpose of this particular design, being meant to be fast and agile, not to mention easy to control, as adding arms would have just added more complexity into this design than it already has. The dashboard of the pilot’s cockpit was already cluttered enough. Furthermore, the lack of a tail also has its reasons, as the rear section of the machine is where the exhaust of its main turbine was located, sucking in air from small ventilation shafts scattered on the front of its armor to cool the machine’s internals and expelling it through the large opening where the tail should be. Overall, a machine meant for military purposes. Quick and agile in its design and equipped with a potent main weapon within its maw. A marvelous machine of both technology and magic, one that would certainly give the Crystal Empire a military edge if this one prototype even works as intended. If not, then his reputation of being the Empire’s mechanical genius, or nutcase depending on who you asked, would certainly be on the line. Plus, it would also risk his future career of possibly becoming the first head chief of anything mechanical or technology related within the empire, which in turn would rake in more wealth and prestige for him and his family’s name and also give his wife a lot more opportunities to keep herself busy. Not that he didn’t love his wife or wanted her to be more gone or anything, but having her sometimes busting through his workshop doors and interrupting his very critical and experimental work can be rather grating, to say the least. It would be nice to be able to work and tinker through a single day without having her constantly break his Zen whenever she decided she would need him for something. But alas, such are the burdens of both a technical professional and a married stallion, especially when Maple’s father was quite the powerful noble himself. Connections are everything, after all. “Sir Cid, the emperor and his escorts have arrived!” One of Cid’s workers suddenly shouted which forced Cid out of his thoughts. “Well, let him in, of course! I personally requested for his presence, as today is the day where we are finally going to give this thing its first test run. If it succeeds, well...then, all of your future positions as technicians are well and truly secured, as I am positive that mass production of these machines will truly begin once the test is met with resounding success. Let’s just hope that it will,” Cid openly stated. The young stallion nodded before running back outside. Cid, on the other hoof, fixed his mane, grabbed his discarded vest to put it back on, and made sure that there wasn’t too much oil caking up on his face or hooves to make himself at least somewhat presentable towards the Emperor. The key word here is ‘somewhat’, as he was still pretty much caked with oil and grime, no matter how much he wiped it. He actually needed a proper shower, but that has to obviously wait, as he had an emperor to entertain. It didn’t take long for the aforementioned monarch to eventually arrive, as he and his guards entered through the front double doors of Cid’s Workshop. Curiously enough, there were even a couple of these newly talked about changelings with him, following the Emperor into the workshop with their eyes immediately glued on the mechanical MagiTech beast in front of them. They instinctively recoiled, shocked and surprised at its sight, with one of them even channeling its horn out of instinct, which immediately sent off alarm bells into Cid’s mind on what was about to come. Cid immediately rushed down from his catwalk, not really feeling keen in having one of those magic slinging bug equines damage his precious prototype before it could even be turned on, fellow guests or not. “Hey, stop charging your horns in here. This is a work in progress, and I am not allowing ANYONE to put a dent in it, especially now in such a crucial moment!” Cid openly stated, which got the changelings’ attention. “What in the Foremothers’ names is this...this thing?” Emerald asked as she pointed at the machine sharply. Cid hummed. “Well...this here, my young dear, is something which is called MagiTech Armor, a machine designed to be driven by a single individual for both military purposes or as a means of long distance travel, or perhaps even for industrial use or domestic travel if the design is somewhat altered. Really, this prototype only scratches the surface of what this technology could be used for. The thought alone is exciting on its own,” Cid happily explained before getting a bit excited on the thought. The Emperor hummed to get Cid’s attention, which it did, as he quickly shook himself to get back on track. “Oh, yes. Of course, your highness. You are here for a reason, the demonstration of this prototype over here,” Cid announced while gesturing towards the almost house sized machine behind him. The emperor hummed, silently observing the overall design and structural complexity of the machine, reviewing the pipes and pistons in between the armor pieces and assessing the joints and plating as well. There were a few exposed wires as well, but those can easily be tucked back into the armor, after the test is done. This is just a test drive if the machine even functions the way it should. Weapon testing could be done afterwards, if the mobility test is a success. For now, it is more important that these legs moved and even run, if the pilot pushes on the throttle. Furthermore, it has not yet been made clear as to who is going to be the first ever MagiTech driver in this world. From what the Emperor could tell, there were just young looking engineers and craftsman around here, but no one qualified enough to drive this machine. A very critical detail indeed. “Say, who is going to pilot this thing? I don’t see anyone even remotely qualified to drive such a machine,” the emperor asked. “I will,” someone suddenly answered from behind the machine itself, which got everyone’s attention. It was none other than Sapphire, dressed in some interesting looking leather outfit and heat gear and with a set of pilot goggles draped around them. The emperor was intrigued by this, to say the least, especially when he knew her simply as Silver’s second in command. He wasn’t exactly sure that such a lady like her was even qualified to pilot such a machine. She probably wasn’t, but there is only one way to find out. But then again, wonders still happen, and naturally talented individuals are a thing, after all. Just look at the band of fours kids who managed to somehow foil all of his original plans in his old world and even managed to kill him when first confronted with him face to face. Talk about destined to fail, when impossibilities such as these are just allowed to function. But alas, it is none of his concern at the moment, or rather he hopes it isn’t. For now, it is better to just banish these memories out of his psyche and see if Cid has done his intended job in creating the very first MagiTech armor, according to his specific designs. He may be a genius when it comes to both magic and technology respectively, but mechanically, he is not, which is why he most often requires the assistance of others to bring his designs and visions into reality, especially in a very quick and efficient timeframe. So for now, he just had to accept the possibility that Sapphire over there does have the skills and knowhow to actually pilot this machine without ramming it into a wall or something, which in turn would just hinder the test all together and stop any useful data from being made when it comes to making the conclusion that this prototype is actually functioning as intended and not be ridden with many tiny design flaws and what not. With that, the Emperor quickly rubbed his chin before nodding. “Very well, if you think you can pilot this machine, then please, be my guest. One has to start eventually in order to educate the others on how this machine works. I am planning to have a completely new military branch dedicated to these MagiTech Machines anyway, once the testing phases of this particular model are a success,” he stated, which caused Sapphire to nod with an understanding look. “I know, which is why I personally volunteered to be the first, as most other guardstallions have declined the offer to test drive this thing when Cid came into our barracks to search for a suitable pilot. I, at least, took the time after I accepted to look into the design diagrams and controls of this machine to give me a general idea on what to do. But other than that, I am afraid that my driving skills will be mostly luck based at first and a healthy dose of intuitions as well. I apologize for not bringing more to the table, but I will do my best. I promise,” she truthfully answered. “Very well. In that case, please start with the testing then. The stairs on the right side of the workshop will lead you up to the catwalk, which will allow you access into the machine’s cockpit inside its head. We will move out of the way while you do that,” Cid instructed, to which Sapphire nodded before making her way up the aforementioned catwalk which Cid had pointed out. “Alright, we should all get out of way before she climbs into the pilot seat and engages the turbine. I would suggest the opposite catwalk from hers, where we can easily watch the machine start up sequence. We shall then follow the machine, once it gets outside,” Cid suggested before everyone followed him. The changelings, on the other hand, decided to just fly over to the catwalk and wait there for the rest to arrive. Once everyone was safely out of the way and looking at the aforementioned machine from their vantage point, Sapphire decided to jump into the cockpit from her position and sat herself down. The entire space for the driver was carefully shaped and constructed for a pony’s form in mind. The seat in which Sapphires flank was pressed on was also somewhat made to fit an equine of her regular size. The three pedals underneath the dashboard where shaped to accommodate hooves as well. Besides those, the dashboard itself was just littered with dials, valves, levers and also throttles, which Sapphire could only remotely make sense of. She might have an idea what one half of them do, judging by the notes and schematics she had studied prior to this, but the other half were still a mystery to her. Though, what she did know were the two opposite levers on both sides of her seat: one left, one right. Both were designed to act as speed and movement controls of the machine she was sitting on, and lastly, there was the power switch to the right of the dashboard as well. It was a hoof sized switch, which was just one flick away of either creating history or a disaster of epic proportion. Or so she thought, as she would be lying to herself if she told herself that she wasn’t a tit bit nervous about this. This is an untested metal beast, after all. She nodded to herself, collecting all the courage she could muster before reaching out for the large switch to her right and flicking it on. The effects of her decision were almost instant. The entire machine suddenly began to hum and vibrate underneath her as the central turbine quickly sprang to life. The pipes still connected to the massive machine started to hiss and shake, letting out a burst of steam from the connectors of the machine as the oil inside of them suddenly turned visibly red, like blood, and were rapidly flowing into the beast as the main turbine sped up. This was it. There was no turning back now, as the hum became louder and louder, and the hissing on the vents became more numerous and wild. The sleeping beast was now waking up, as the dials on Sapphire’s dashboard began to move and light up. Cid and the Emperor up above on the catwalk were watching this scene with great anticipation, while the changelings and the emperor’s escorts were looking down at the rumbling machine with a hint of child-like fascination and even slight intimidation. The sense of intimidation quickly turned into silent collective yelps, as the fuel hoses on the beast's back and sides suddenly disconnected themselves from the machine and began flailing violently in the air, releasing both hot steam and even traces of oil onto the workshop’s floors below them. The unexpected happened. The large brass colored head of the beast suddenly reared back, and gave of a loud and downright frighteningly low roar, as if the thing was suddenly alive and free. With all the pipes and hoses now disconnected from the beast, it was free, free to move, hopefully at the will of its pilot. Sapphire, on her end, was fiercely surprised at this sudden life like behavior of this machine, but quickly shook herself back on track as she began manipulation of the two opposite levers on each side of her seat, to hopefully control the awakened beast with them. She started with the left one, slowly and gently pushing it forward to give this machine forward power, and therefore allowing it to gently move out of the large workshop and out into open grounds, where any sudden movements or defects on the controls wouldn’t be as disastrous as there would be inside a cramp, packed workshop. Thankfully, and again to Sapphire’s amazement, the beast suddenly began to move forward, using its complex legs to stomp its way forwards and towards the wide open double doors of Cid’s workshop. Sapphire could easily feel every step this giant metal beast took. But other than that, the slow ride itself was a lot more smoother then she originally anticipated it would be. There was only a few slight up and down movements from what she could feel, not enough to be too noticeable and certainly not too much to be either disorientating or sickening. In fact, the gentle movements of the machine were actually pretty soothing, from what she could tell. But none of that really mattered to her, as the sheer amazing excitement she was feeling to actually move and control this massive machine with her own hoofs was easily overloading everything else she could be feeling. She already felt quite powerful while sitting on top of this massive thing’s head, and she hadn’t even began moving it from left to right or even got the chance of using its in-built weapons systems that the diagrams explained. She couldn’t wait to actually give its main weapon system a try, if they even work that is. Though, so far, the locomotion of the MagiTech Machine seemed to be working perfectly. Its proof could be attested for when Sapphire suddenly found herself outside of the workshop’s covers and out into the open fields. She was out, all thanks to the machine she was driving forward. Cid and the rest were, of course, fascinated by this. Cid especially was beaming like a child, while the Emperor was simply feeling satisfied that his design was actually working as it was intended. For now, at least. Sapphire still has to order this prototype to turn and alter its path. Otherwise, it would be stomping out of the empire’s protective shield and move out into the open snow covered fields. Which, luckily, Sapphire realized as she began looking around the dashboard and momentarily panicking. “Oh, crap! Where is the control lever controls again? Where is control lever controls again?!” she repeated to herself as her eyes were going all over the place. She eventually remembered, facehoofing as a result and quickly placing her hoof on the lever to her right, or rather, the control stick as its called that she recalled from her studies. The thing was even shaped differently than the lever to her left, a bit larger and thicker in size and with a completely different base as well, allowing a 360 degree of possible movements with this one, if she again remembered it correctly. She began to test her knowledge by pushing the control stick to the right and immediately felt and saw how the machine suddenly began stomping to the right. She tried again by pushing it left this time, only for her to get the same results as the first test, though of course, only going in the completely opposite direction. She kept the turn this time, allowing herself to turn 360 degrees in place before willing the machine to face the workshop she just left and pulling the left lever or throttle back to its central position and therefore forcing the machine to stop. It did, flawlessly of course, and without any knock backs or uncomfortable sensations in Sapphire’s cockpit. The basic movement test seemed to be a success. If Cid wasn’t ecstatic before, he certainly was now, after having witnessed Sapphire making these very basic maneuvers. It was basically complete at this point. The machine worked, at least in both movements and start up. “Marvelous. An absolute perfect result in the category for basic movements. I never doubted my mechanical ingenuity and prowess,” Cid openly stated, beaming from ear to ear as he climb down the catwalk to join Sapphire outside with the machine. The Emperor couldn’t agree more as he followed the ecstatic stallion, noting the piston and gear moments inside the legs where the armor was exposed enough to see them. They all seemed to move perfectly in harmony with one another, which is of course perfect and part of the intended design. This Cid certainly has proven his mechanical skills and engineering. “Well, now that this test is done, let's just move to both the running test, agility test and then later, the weapons test shall we?” the Emperor suggested, to which Cid nodded. “Well, yes, of course. The quicker we can evaluate that this design works, the faster we can then start putting it in mass production, and to also come up with alternative variants for different use and specializations as well. This is just the tip of the iceberg, after all,” Cid stated while looking thoughtful and mentally excited. The changelings and the guards, on the other hoof, were just speechless and content in just staring silently at the large brass machine in front of them. Its head was even moving a bit from place to place, as if the thing was actually alive or something. This was certainly not creepy at all, or intimidating. Cid eventually nodded to himself. “Alright, Sapphire. Now, would you be so kind to test the running and agility mechanic of the MagiTech machine? Afterwards, we can then start evaluating the weapons systems, to see if the enchantments and focusing lenses really work. Those are the main features of this machine, after all,” Cid shouted. Sapphire just nodded before looking down on her dashboard and pushing down on one of the floor pedals with her left hind leg out of random, thinking that one of these peddles was also somehow connected to the power and speed function of this Brass beast. But instead, what she got was a red bright beam of fire jetting out from the beasts open maw and immediately impacting the roof of Cid’s workshop. The explosion which followed was bright enough to force Sapphire to shield her eyes, as both smoke and shrapnel eventually reached her as well. Once the light and smoke cleared though, it was clear that she somehow managed to press or engage the wrong button, or in this case peddle, as one massive chunk of Cids workshop was now gone, alongside with Sapphire’s excitement and sense of enthusiasm. She fucked up, big time. “Well...at least the weapons work perfectly fine as well, by the looks of it,” the Emperor casually commented after dropping the shield he cast around him and the ponies and changelings around him. Everyone else was too shocked or frozen stiff to really say or add anything to the emperor’s nonchalant demeanor, especially Cid, who was too busy staring at the damaged workshop he had in front of him, or rather, what was left of it. Its roof was mostly gone and still smoldering by the beam which Sapphire accidentally fired. Oh, he is never going to hear the end of it from Maple, or the rest of the council. He is sure of it.