The two weeks passed, with the first batch of Luxite being 'replanted' I now had four grown, with four more almost done. There wasn't much space left in the clearing though, I couldn't place too many more chambers, so my production will be limited for now.
I could always clear more trees, but because of the hostile fauna, I was a little wary. I didn't doubt that I could take care of the wooden creatures, and maybe one of the larger ones, but destruction of territory tends to bring out the apex predators. Something I wasn't sure I had met yet, considering I've 'faced' a dragon.
I didn't have to worry about that right now though, I had a audience with the Princess. I still had about two hours until the meeting, and I wondered what the Princess would be like. From what I know, she has a sister, and they both rule the nation, but I'm only meeting one right now. I wonder what Twilight's relation to the Princess was, she seemed to be familiar with them.
I was waiting around the edge of the forest, almost completely disarmed. Twilight knew I carried weapons, so she probably informed the Princess, and if I didn't have any, it would show my honorable nature. Of course I still had a single gun hidden in the middle of my tech, I wasn't just going to go into any meeting unarmed. I would only use it if necessary though.
Apparently arriving early was not something only I did, as Twilight herself was seen walking down the path to the edge of the forest. Twilight saw my tech, and hurried over, she was wearing some bags on her back, I was wondering what she might be carrying when she spoke up.
"Hello, I'm surprised to see you here so early." She greeted.
"I don't have much else to do right now. Hello by the way." I replied.
"Are you nervous about meeting the Princess?" Twilight asked, a small smirk on her face.
"A little, and I have a question. Why is the Princess coming out here, isn't there a better spot to meet?" I asked, relatively confused.
Twilight looked at me strangely, then she laughed.
"The Princess isn't coming to meet us, we're going to meet her. I've arranged transport to bring us to her court." She explained.
"We're going to meet her? But how? I don't see any vehicles nearby, nor can I fly." I lied.
"Don't worry about it, there is a team of Pegasi coming to airlift you up to Canterlot." Twilight answered. She thought for a moment then asked, "Can't Tecker carry you?"
"No, he can't, and Canterlot? Where is that? Also I'm going to get airlifted?" I asked, really confused.
"It's over there on the mountain side, you can see it from here." Twilight gestured with her leg towards the mountain with the city on it.
So Canterlot was what that city was called, I remember seeing it when looking for Luxite. I guess I chose right to not go there first. There's no telling what would've happened. Then there was the idea of being airlifted, it wasn't new to me, but techs don't really need to do it with access to inventories, moving large objects or pieces of resources could sometimes warrant it though.
I wasn't so sure of being airlifted myself, as I seem to have a track record of falling in this tech, and while I wasn't superstitious, the facts were still there. I chose not to bring this up with Twilight however, as it would just make her ask more questions.
"Who is Princess Celestia anyway? All I know is that she has a sister and rules this nation. What can you tell me about her?"
Twilight perked up upon hearing this, and then proceeded to go on an incredibly long tangent detailing all about the princess. This went on for a while, I was able to get a few questions in too. By the end of the rant, I was able to learn quite a bit.
Apparently Princess Celestia was the one that moved the small sun around the planet, and her sister Luna moved the Moon. That wasn't too far fetched, I mean I had my manipulation field, and Celestia wasn't moving an actual star, but moving something that large would take a lot of energy. I should definitely be wary of the Princesses.
I also learned a bit about who this Celestia was, she was a kind, benevolent leader that was apparently immortal and had lived for over a thousand years. Also not too far fetched, while most living things cannot live forever, with enough energy you could set back the 'age limit' for some lifeforms.
What was strange though was that Celestia was older than I was, with an unknown age beyond a thousand years. I had only been prospecting for about two hundred eighteen years, and had lived a full life before I became a prospector too. I definitely have more questions to ask this Princess Celestia now.
The fact that she was kind was good, I'd be able to make my plea for help and probably get some support from it. Being the leader of the nation, I'm sure they had information I could use, though I might have to pay for it. I'll have to make my own money though, something I was very much used to doing.
After about thirty minutes of ranting, Twilight was interrupted by something flying over.
What appeared to be a golden chariot descended down from the sky, being pulled by what looked like two Pegasus ponies. After a moment, a large platform also appeared, being pulled by a large group of Pegasi, that was definitely for me, it was safe to assume that they had been informed of my size and weight.
The entourage landed close by, and Twilight walked over to meet them, I stayed put as the platform was lowered to the ground. Most of the Pegasi didn't pay any mind to my tech, they probably assumed I was inanimate, and they were just transporting a heavy vehicle or something.
I didn't want to complicate things, so I just drove onto the platform, surprising a few of them. They didn't hesitate though, and quickly secured the ropes onto my tech. Then they each grabbed the ropes for the platform, then lifted it up.
I could tell they were struggling a bit, they must not have to deal with such heavy loads all the time. They should be glad I'm not using heavy blocks, there is no way they could lift me up if I had the heavy plating of Hawkeye or the dense structure of a Geocorp block.
With me up in the air, Twilight soon entered the chariot and they took off, quickly catching up and then leading the group.
After about an hour of flight time, the 'docks' if you could call them that of Canterlot came into view. A large space was cleared for my tech and as we landed quite a few onlookers nearby appeared to be very interested in my tech.
Canterlot was pretty large, it was hard to gauge the size of it at a distance, but right at the edge I could see how many buildings there were. Fortunately, the roads were wide enough for my tech, and there wouldn't be any complications with driving to the castle.
Unfortunately, I had just come from the forest, and I wasn't able to clean my tech on the ride over, so a lot of loose foliage fell off and I left several tracks of mud in the street. The streets were once nearly pearly white, not anymore. It wasn't like I could do anything about it, I'd just have to explain that to the Princess.
I was escorted by a large amount of white ponies wearing gold armor. Almost exactly like the ones I saw at the dragon's mountain. A lot of ponies gawked at my tech, seeing something large and unknown being escorted through the streets must be pretty interesting to them. I didn't pay it too much mind, once again, there was nothing I could do about it.
It wasn't a long drive from the docks to the castle, it would've been a lot faster if I could drive at full speed. I was surprised to see the gates of the castle were large enough to fit my tech. Thankfully most of the mud had been cleared off in my drive, so I wasn't getting it all over the castle... much.
Hopefully this Princess Celestia really was kind, I was in a really bad situation. Tracking mud all throughout her castle was not a nice thing to do, I really hope she'd understand if I explained myself.
Now in the castle proper, there was a large red carpet leading to a large set of double doors. Looking around, I could see a majority of the castle was made of Marble inlaid with Auruite. An interesting aesthetic to say the least, I didn't mind it though.
The double doors were opened by two guards, and Twilight took the lead, leading me through to the other side.
Inside was absolutely a throne room, with several stained glass windows with images depicting ponies in action. Some even looked like Twilight, which was very interesting. The red carpet continued all the way to a large throne, which stood even taller thanks to the staircase leading up to it.
But there, sitting on the throne, I could only assume was Princess Celestia. A large white pony similar in stature to 'Nightmare Moon' with a flowing multicolor mane and tail. I could see some regalia adorning her, and I could clearly see both a horn and wings.
No wonder she was the head of the country, with a form like that who could stand against her? Not to mention the power to manipulate the mini-sun.
Standing next to her, was a slightly smaller pony, with a deep blue coat and flowing mane that heavily reminded me of Nightmare Moon, I could assume this was Princess Luna. I haven't heard too much about her, just that she controlled the moon and was the sister of Princess Celestia.
I wonder if she has any relation to Nightmare Moon, they do look very similar.
The double doors closed behind us, and Twilight bowed. I didn't really have any way of greeting, so I just stood still for now.
Princess Celestia had a small smile on her face, while Princess Luna looked confused, almost as if trying to remember something. She was staring at my tech, but didn't speak up. Celestia did though.
"Twilight, my faithful student, I assume this is the ambassador you wrote to me about?" She asked, her voice smooth and unwavering.
Twilight was her student? That was surprising, no wonder she was able to get into contact with the Princess so fast. But what exactly was she learning?
"Yes she is Princess Celestia, this is Tecka. Please say hello." Twilight said to both me and Princess Celestia.
"Hello Princess Celestia." I greeted
Princess Celestia's expression didn't change, but she did pause for a bit.
"Your voice comes out remarkably well for being inside a carriage." She commented.
Thankfully I actually had to 'write' what I was saying before I say it or else I would've laughed right then and there.
"You misunderstand Princess Celestia, I am not in this tech, I am this tech." I politely explained.
This time Princess Celestia's expression did change, her smile faltering for a bit, but she quickly recovered.
"I hear you are an ambassador, from which country do you hail?" She asked, changing the subject.
"I come from The Federation, unfortunately I do not know where it is in relation to Equestria just yet," I answered truthfully, I really didn't know how far away I was.
"You are an ambassador yet you do not know where your country is?" Blurted out Princess Luna, she quickly snapped her mouth shut with a look from Princess Celestia however.
"It is indeed strange, you travelled all the way here and you do not know the location of your own country. How is that possible?" Celestia asked,
"That is because I did not travel here on purpose, I arrived here due to a mishap and I haven't seen a world map yet, though I assume it's on the other side of the world. I've never heard of Equestria before." I lied once again. I was glad I wasn't able to show body language, or else I probably would've messed it up.
"How unfortunate, do tell, how would an ambassador arrive here by incident?" Celestia asked with a bit of suspicion
"Technically, I'm not qualified to be an ambassador, but right now I am the only one available. I come here to ask for your help in returning home, then you can speak with a proper ambassador." I answered.
Twilight looked at me, a little confused by my words, but didn't speak up.
"So you are not a real ambassador. You lie to us and expect us to help you?" Princess Luna spoke up again,
"Sister!" Princess Celestia harshly whispered to her, Luna quickly shrank back down. "Please excuse my sister, however I do believe we can help you. We can provide maps and transport, though it depends on how far away this 'Federation' is"
"Maps would be helpful, but transportation is not required. While I may not be an ambassador, I am adept at fabrication, I only request the knowledge to obtain the resources necessary for transportation." I explained to the Princesses.
"Very well, we shall provide maps for you. We also need to know what resources you need." Celestia said.
"Thank you, as for what materials I need, there are only two missing. The first is Cobalt, I am in need of a great amount of it. The second I call Celestite, it is a blue crystal that affects gravity around it." I detailed to the Princesses.
Luna choked, before getting a big smile on her face when she heard me say Cobalt. She didn't say anything though.
Celestia pretended not to notice Luna's outburst, and thought for a moment.
"You will have to talk to my sister about Cobalt, but this 'Celestite' sounds familiar, despite it's name. I have heard stories of a similar crystal up north in the frozen wastes, though nopony has been up there for generations. Is that all you need?" Celestia asked me.
"Yes, everything else I have taken care of. Even the information to their whereabouts is invaluable, thank you." I said, greatly happy I haven't had to pay anything yet.
This time Luna spoke up, without getting shushed by Celestia.
"You said you needed Cobalt?" She asked, almost giddy.
"Yes, I do. Do you happen to know where I can find some?" I asked, a little wary of her attitude.
Luna's smile got even wider, it was starting to creep me out.
"I do, but getting Cobalt is going cost you..." She said in a sing song voice.
Of course, 'never expect everything for free' Mike once said,
"Very well, can you at least tell me where to get it? And how much it'll cost?" I asked.
Luna hummed happily, muttering something about not doing this for a thousand years.
"I will have to talk to my sister about the price, but as for the location... There is a reason you have to get it through me..." Luna giggled, "You can only find Cobalt... on the moon!" She was nearly laughing now.
"Luna! Be more considerate, Tecka here is stuck in Equestria without Cobalt, give her some leniency!" Celestia scolded Luna.
Luna's smile immediately disappeared, and she muttered a quick sorry before turning to leave.
"I will talk with her later about that, just know that we can not give you Cobalt for free either way, we will find out how you can pay for it later. For now, your top priority should be getting home, we can discuss relations with the Federation with an actual ambassador later. Now though, our allotted meeting time is coming to an end, if you wish to speak with us again speak with my student Twilight Sparkle, though you will most certainly have to wait, we are very busy after all." Celestia said to me, gesturing to Twilight.
"Thank you for meeting with me, and thank you for helping me to return home." I said, turning to leave.
Twilight, although not getting to speak much, also smiled. She made sure to collect the maps provided in her bags. Then we both left the throne room.
That definitely could've gone worse, I wasn't worried about getting Cobalt, especially since I now know the location of Celestite. With it, travelling to the moon can be done with ease, the only problem is re-entry into the atmosphere. Titanite is essential for the heat shielding, and I couldn't just go up and fabricate my own heat shield because Fabricators and Refineries don't work in the vacuum.
I'd have to buy enough Titanite to fabricate a heatshield, then I could just go get Titanite whenever I needed, completely subverting the cost. For now though, I'll just do what I've been doing for the past two hundred years, gathering resources and selling them. This time not for profit, but for Titanite.
"Sister! I can harvest Cobalt once more!" Luna was nearly jumping with joy, "It is not often I get to do this!"
"Before you do anything Luna, I need to set some restrictions." Celestia interrupted, "I know you haven't done this in a thousand years, but times have changed. With no supply of Cobalt, it has become more expensive, and more sought after. If you are to harvest more Cobalt, you have to limit yourself, even if it is to help somepony get home. There are many that would jump at the opportunity to obtain Cobalt, and I do not mean buying it. Do not think I do not want you to sell it, this income would be great for the treasury, but you need to know the risks if word of this gets out." Celestia explained to Luna.
"Understood, but I know what I am doing, Celestia. Many sought after Cobalt a thousand years ago too, I will be careful in dealing it out. One more thing, how much are we going to sell it for?" Luna asked.
"I have not checked the most recent price, but from what I do know, a kilogram of Cobalt would cost around three thousand bits." Celestia detailed.
Luna did a double take, and took a moment to recollect herself.
"Things must have really changed in my absence, either the value of a bit has gone down, or Cobalt has become that rare." Luna though out loud.
"A combination of both, dear sister. We will see how this Tecka will accomplish this goal. I do hope she can do it, she did say she had the other resources taken care of." Celestia said, looking forward
"Quite" was all Luna said.
To Be Continued...