//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: To New Heights 
// Story: An Interview with Mini 
// by Clowitty 
//------------------------------//

"Oh, welcome back James. I hope Lyra took good care of you."

She did! Now, where were we? [I flipped through my notes] Ah, yes, when you saw everything in your mind.

"Oh yes. There."

What did that feel like?

"Like nothing I've ever experienced since. For a brief instant during the whole ordeal, I saw reality itself burn through my mind, and afterwards, I was granted the chance to go out and see it again. How could I not chase it?"

I think we're getting ahead here; you haven't even talked about Equestria.

"Oh, yes! Sorry about that. After what happened...happened, I quit the military. Well, I say quit. Fired on my own terms."

How did you manage that?

"One of my first creations was a tranquilizer gun. Basic, literally cobbled together. But it was enough to sneak up to one of the watch towers at the castle..and then shoot Celestia through the window with a dart during an important meeting. She went down like a rock, and I was politely requested to maybe not do that again."

You did it again, didn't you?

"No, I did it to Luna. The look on her face."

Hehe.

"I still have that gun somewhere. One of my most prized possessions. Why wouldn't it be? After that, I went to an empty piece of land, and called it my home. Set up Mini Inc. Recruited ponies from across Equestria, and we got to work."

But, wait, how did the ponies know what to do?

"They didn't. But I wrote books. The Equestrian Enhancers. Combined with a few..ahem, pills, people were able to quickly absorb the knowledge of a field of their choosing. We started from base principles, but within a year, we had computers. A week afterwards, we had the internet. And it never stopped. We never stopped."

Wow. That... sounds amazing.

"It was. We kept a lot secret, of course. Didn't want to advance Equestria by too much too fast, we'd send the country into chaos. But at a stable pace, we released what we had. We even got the attention of the Royal Family, who asked us to work for them. I said no, of course."

Of course?

"I didn't want to bow to any sovereign power."

But..you were in Equestrian borders? Surely you had to follow their rules.

"Well, follow is a loose word. Eventually, creatures from outside Equestria heard about what we were doing, and wanted in. Mini Inc was one of the first places in Equestria to take in non ponies. Their biological expertise was helpful. For example, now we had dragons, they could take over duties with extreme heat."

You didn't answer my question.

"Because, to be honest, the answer is psychopathic. The Royals didn't ask for us because they thought it'd be a good idea. They asked because they were absolutely terrified of what I could do. They were right to be. By that time, we were developing laser weapons, grenades that jam magic, and I even managed to launch and activate one of my most used items, Project CANNON."

Magical teleportation! I have one of those implants.

"Everypony does. Why wouldn't you? But, soon for the royals, it was too late. I was powerful enough to overthrow them. But..I didn't. I couldn't be bothered with the paperwork, quite frankly. Plus, I was already working on spaceships by this point. To take ponies out to the stars. And then..then I got the Rip working. An-"


Yeah, we're leaving Equestria now, I think we should break there for a bit.

"Oh, of course. Lyra will see to you again, see you soon."