//------------------------------// // Things Come Together // Story: Adjacent Adventure // by Merallakos //------------------------------// Maybe development was going a little too smoothly. From acquisition to processing to installation of the core crystals had only taken three days. The final prototype of the mobile base had passed every test they'd thrown at it thus far. The electrical and mana systems worked well. Everything had just fallen into place, like a mass produced tank from the old war. Sweets still felt kind of haunted by her choices. Every time an opportunity presented itself to withdraw, she pulled herself further into Zipp's mission. Toots had convinced her to apply for pilot and... now she was ready to be interviewed. She guessed. A fedora’d pony –Rob– opened the interview room door. "Hey Sweets, we're ready." Sweets entered the room and Rob closed the door behind her. Sweets had imagined this interview would occur in a dark room, a single table with two folding chairs. She was never sure why. In reality the room had white walls, tinted yellow by the incandescent light bulbs. A simple desk, two office chairs and a couch furnished the room. There was a– a Zipp on the couch. She was dressed in the same dark blue suit that she'd been in when Sweets first met her. Her pink and blue toothpaste-mohawk was as brilliant as ever. "Uh." Zipp made eye contact with Sweets. "Weird, right?" She gestured at the couch, "Normally interview rooms don't have couches." "I told you I was letting another pony in," Rob complained, poking his head in through the door. Zipp smiled at Rob. She kept smiling. Zipp didn’t stop smiling. Rob closed the door again. "Please," Zipp said professionally, "Sit down." Sweets weighed her options. She could sit on the couch, behind the desk, or in the interview chair. Frankly, she was a little intimidated by how casual Zipp seemed about the prospect of hosting a job interview on the couch, so she decided to go for a gamble. She dragged the office chair over to the couch, using it as an ottoman. Zipp nodded approvingly. And then her confidence seemed to wane into discomfort. "I was actually expecting somepony else." "Who?" Sweets asked. So far she had no idea what was going on with this interview, but this definitely wasn't what she had expected. "I shouldn't say much, but he applied for all three positions. He showed up first for the other two interviews." "...Haven't there been a lot of interviews?" "Phew," Zipp sighed. "Yeah, it's been a long morning. Rob's been teaching me along the way, but it's exhausting." "Hey," Sweets reached out and gave Zipp what she hoped was a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You can do it. Just another hour you'll be able to have lunch!" "Huhhh, and a trip to the bathroom." Sweets and Zipp laughed.  "I like your collar," Zipp said. "Oh, thanks." Sweets had considered other options, but the collar looked good on her and was practical. She'd detached he name badge and swapped her blue tie with a dark green one, but it was pretty much the same one she wore everyday. "I like your suit," Sweets returned. "Thanks, I pick–" "Interview?" Rob opened the door again. Zipp took a deep breath, sighing through her nostrils. "You're right. Let's go back to the desk." Sweets nodded, "Professionalism is important." The rest of the interview proceeded much closer to Sweets' expectations. She had mulled over most of the usual interview questions already, so nothing quite caught her off guard.  "Alright," Zipp made a few notes on her notepad. "Any questions for me?" Still, this was the part Sweets had been a little afraid of. "Yes," Sweets said. "You've been to Craterhold, right?" "Yeah." "You've never been past Craterhold though." "I haven't. But I have multiple accounts of ponies who have." It sounded like this wasn't the first time Zipp had been over this subject today. "Even if the route doesn't turn out to be viable, we should always be able to turn back around... If you're afraid though... I'm not sure how to phrase this..." "I'm not afraid," Sweets said. "Just a little concerned." "About the route." "About the hazards." Sweets was convinced there would be a navigable route. Zipp tapped a hoof on the table. "It will be dangerous. There may be problems. But I believe that we're already prepared. With the tank, the right crew and unity? I think everything is gonna turn out alright." I will make sure of it." Sweets sighed, "I'm sure you will." She went back to her mental list of questions, "Oh, also," "Yes?" “Is Sunny Starscout going to be on the team?” “No,” Zipp said. "...Ok, next question: Is this expedition really necessary? I mean, can't you just find more around this part of Equestria?" Zipp leaned back. "Not strictly. Honestly I know there's a lot to find right here. Izzy and Sunny still have a lot to recover just in the Lighthouse. "But, I just have a feeling. Do you really need to be in an extreme situation before you go on an adventure? Is it required to have a dragon before you go looking for one? Just because you have more puzzle pieces here doesn't mean that you can't go find others, right?" Sweets nodded. Fragments of a picture could entice more than its whole. Ponies had strange desires, but those were often the ones most worth pursuing. You didn't need context to define yourself if you knew what you wanted. Zipp had feelings, she trusted her gut. Sweets supposed that that was valid. Perhaps it would be enough. "You're right." Sweets stood, "I feel like this expedition has a shot. Thank you." "Thank you too." Zipp held out a hoof, "Regardless of whether or not you get the position, you've been really helpful getting this whole project going." Sweets took Zipp's hoof. "Anytime." Grease had taken a long time with the manacrystal harness since its last use. He'd spent long hours tuning it, positioning each intricate power braid, reexamining the crystals and checking layer after layer of components. Some systems of the mobile base (Grease called it a crawler, despite the fact it could move faster than a gallop) ran directly on mana. The lights, the suspension, and plumbing were all manapowered. Most of the crawler, including the motors which ran the tracks, were electrical. Beneath the harness, the crawler had two large black boxes and one smaller pink one which served to transform mana from the manacrystals into electricity. The mechanics of how they functioned was unknown, but they tended to generate a lot of heat, and Grease expected to spend his nights sleeping near them.  Grease made sure for the last time that all the electrical fuses were installed correctly and that the crawler was ready to drive. Though, he wasn't sure why he bothered because it had already been driven quite a few times, and it really didn't seem like the problematic type. Unlike a lot of the leftover construction equipment which Canterlogic still provided service for. From outside the vehicle, a voice announced, "OK, Sweets! Start her up!" "Ah," Grease murmured, "That's why I bothered.  The pop of bubblegum echoed from the cockpit as Sweets engaged the manacrystals. “Gahhhhh!” Zipp ground a hoof against her forehead in frustration. The interviews had all gone phenomenally, but when she’d returned to Zephyr Heights to actually pick candidates, she’d found that her original outline of the crew was hopelessly vague! “I heard sounds of struggle,” Queen Haven entered Zipp’s study. “Is everything alright?” Zipp was hunched over various papers spread across her desk. Head in her hooves. “I don’t know who to pick! How do you decide the crew of an expedition to forgotten territory?” “Well,” Haven strolled over to Zipp’s desk, “who do you need?” “I don’t know! Nopony has ever done this before.” “Really? I seem to recall that this whole ‘base’ of yours is like some kind of tank? Hasn’t that been done before?” Zipp nodded. “I know I need a mechanic, mana technician, a pilot and a navigator. But I already picked ponies there from Canterlogic.” “Who?” Zipp took a mechanic’s application from a drawer. “This pony is Grease. He applied for all the positions. He’s a very qualified mechanic and manatician. He’s reliable and cool under pressure.” Haven sat beside Zipp. “You know him? You trust him? Zipp thought for a moment. “Yes. I met him and I like him. He seems… trustworthy.” Haven shrugged. “He’s one of Phyllis’ employees I suppose. Now for your pilot,” “Sweets. She’s consistent, adaptable, and she’s getting pretty good at driving the tank.” “And you like this one too?” Haven’s tone was slightly pointed. Zipp nodded slowly, an uncertain look on her face. Haven looked over Sweets’ application. “She seems of a decent sort. Your ‘navigator,’ I presume, is you.” “Why,” Zipp feigned surprise,” how did you guess?”  “Hmm, the navigation classes, maybe? You’re also the captain, I presume.” Zipp nodded. “But who else do I need?” “Nopony. You seem to have the essentials covered, don’t you? Food, water, transport, shelter… The ponies to maintain it.” “No,” Zipp opened a drawer, finding a specific page of notes. “I need more ponies so we can be speedy. I want somepony with a specialized knowledge of history. I also need somepony to take photos, that’s important. In Old Equestria there were monsters, so a fighter or someone who knows about animals is warranted. It might be nice to have someone who knows how to cook…” Zipp monologued for a bit before Haven stopped her. “Let’s go back a hoof or two maybe. What are your goals for this mission? What do you want to happen?” Haven paused. “Why is it you’re doing this in the first place?” “Okay,” Zipp took a deep breath. “At some point, Equestria changed drastically. We lost a lot. But how did we lose it all? “The goal is to find out how. Or at least, get clues.” “What clues do you think you will find?” “That depends on who I take, if–” Haven corrected herself, “What clues can you find.” Zipp’s nostrils flared, “I don’t know!” “I think you do.” Haven tapped Zipp’s head. “What have you been doing for the past moons, meeting with your friends every week after pouring over scrolls and books in the basement?” Slowly, Zipp recentered herself. “I want to go to Canterlot because a pony named Gostir came from there to here a long time ago, back when Equestria was whole. I know I can get there. But what would I find there?” “Did you not think this far?” Haven put on a very straight face. “One minute, I have some notes…” Zipp pulled out another page of notes, standing up to face her whiteboard. “The earth ponies have gotten to you, I see.” “This is a lot easier to erase.” Zipp began compiling a list of possible clues: -Stone reliefs -corpses -graveyards (especially if war) -personal effects -clothing -documents -decorations -pictures -figurines -Why is Twilight’s cutie mark in certain places? -magical items -maps -buildings -towns -Ponies, dragons, creatures “Hmm,” Haven strolled around the board. “What about these requires a specialist?” “If it’s been as long as I think it has since old Equestria was lost, a lot of this stuff will probably need to be excavated.” Zipp tapped the list,” I also could use someone with experience cleaning things, not to mention it would just be nice to have more ponies to help.” “You know for certain that you would need things dug up?” “In Craterhold, a lot of the houses had sunk into the earth, so yes.” Haven uncapped a marker and wrote “Unfilled niches:” in a new column. Below it, she added “-Excavator.” Zipp quickly added “-photographer.” She followed with “historian,” and “diplomat,” ”negotiator.” Haven crossed out the latter three. “You know more about the relevant history than anypony but Sunny, and you’re perfectly capable of filling the other two roles,” she explained. “What about a chef?” Zipp asked “The rations you ordered are prepackaged meals.” “Warrior?” “Hm,” Haven’s lips pursed. “Someone from the royal guard.” “I was planning on Zoom or Thunder.” Haven rolled her eyes, “Of course.” “What?” Zipp asked, incredulous. “Nothing, nothing. Is there anypony else you might need?” “I think that should be enough…”