“Sister?” Princess Luna tried.
“I want a detailed report on everything related to this ‘Tecka’ entity and any other associates there may be.” Princess Celestia ordered, ignoring her.
“Yes, your highness, right away.” One of the ponies following them bowed, and quickly ran off.
“Sister?” Princess Luna repeated,
“Shining Armor,” she was once again declined. “Assemble the rest of the guard, I want ponies in the air and on the ground, search the entire forest, and secure anything non-native.” Princess Celestia commanded,
“Yes, Princess,” Shining Armor saluted, and soon diverged from the group.
“Sister!” Princess Luna was having trouble keeping pace.
“And you.” Princess Celestia turned to the last pony in the group, who also looked incredibly confused.
“Y-yes, your highness?” He asked nervously.
“Get somepony to clean up this mess,” Princess Celestia finished, gesturing to the streaks of slag and ashes on the floor along with the glass shards littering the area next to the window.
The servant nodded rapidly, “Yes, your highness,” and he quickly scampered off.
Princess Luna had had enough, she took in a deep breath, and prepared her Royal Canterlot Voice.
”Sister!” She shouted,
Princess Celestia whipped around in an instant, “What!?”
Princess Luna flinched at the outburst, but quickly recovered.
“Sister, will you please tell me what is going on!”
Princess Celestia took a moment to calm herself, “I am sorry, it is just that this situation is incredibly tense at the moment.”
“I do not know if I can agree with you on that sister.” Princess Luna responded, “Why did you outright destroy that ‘Tecka’? And why are we going to such lengths to stop the rest of them?”
Princess Celestia stopped, and turned to more properly address her sister, “Because they have proved themselves to be even more dangerous than they already were.” She explained, “You saw what Tecka was capable of, and the destruction she caused. That is why it is paramount that we stop all of them at once.”
“Is it though?” Princess Luna asked, finding it odd that she was now the voice of reason, “Just because they are capable of horrid things does not mean they actually commit them. What have they actually done? Their infractions are far from the worst, if not personal, and to our knowledge they have yet to actually harm anypony.” She argued,
Princess Celestia gave her a hard stare.
“Besides self defense,” Princess Luna added on quickly.
Princess Celestia sighed, “They might not have assaulted anypony yet, but that does not mean that they will not in the future.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Tecka was a liar sister, a good one, you saw how well she could do it. That alone makes every other one of their actions untrustworthy. There is no way to know what their true intentions are unless we see them from every angle.”
“So you just assume that they had ill intentions from the start?” Princess Luna countered,
“No, I did not,” Princess Celestia answered, “But then Tecka revealed their origin.”
Princess Luna frowned, “Why does that matter?”
“Because they are not of this world.”
“That does not answer my question, sister.”
“You would not understand,” Princess Celestia said, “You were not there.”
“Then help me understand,” Princess Luna said, a bit exasperated, “What happened that made you so wary of otherworlders?”
Princess Celestia paused, and looked towards her sister with a bit of longing. “It was during your banishment, a small group of extraterrestrials came directly to me, promising peace and prosperity for all of ponykind. However, just like Tecka, they were not so truthful. Though they were not so adept at hiding their true intentions, so I was able to stop them before they could act.”
“What were their intentions?” Princess Luna asked, genuinely curious.
“They had planned the assassination and replacement of the world leaders, starting with myself,” Princess Celestia explained, “I can only assume that they meant to control the whole world, and use it for their own nefarious purposes.”
Princess Luna looked at her for a moment, “That certainly sounds less than ideal, but one experience with otherworlders should hardly facilitate such a reaction with others,”
“You are right,” Princess Celestia agreed, “But both the untrustworthiness of Tecka and their origin makes them too dangerous to simply let them be. They have the potential to cause untold amounts of chaos.”
As soon as she uttered that final word, laughter began to echo throughout the room, causing the both of them to stop and look around.
“Who goes there?” Princess Luna shouted out.
The laughter slowly died down, and was replaced with a voice, seemingly from everywhere. “Ho ho, very poor choice of words, my dear Celestia.” It spoke
Both sisters immediately recognized it.
“Discord!” Princess Celestia exclaimed,
“Reveal thyself!” Princess Luna demanded
“Hm, how about no? Though I am very invested in this Tecka you keep speaking of.” Discord said, “So please do continue as if I was never here”
“What did you hear?” Princess Celestia called out.
“Only what I needed to,” Discord replied smugly,
“How did you escape your imprisonment?” Princess Luna shouted, frantically looking around.
“Why isn’t it obvious?” Discord asked, “It was only that little debacle earlier that set me free,”
Princess Celestia grunted, “Of course it did.”
“Now tell me, where is that incredibly beneficial machine?” Discord asked,
“Gone.” Princess Luna quickly stepped in, “Destroyed.”
“Tsk, what a shame, though I wonder if the others would be willing to help me, considering you just murdered one of their kind.”
“You will do no such thing!” Princess Celestia shouted.
Discord laughed again, “And what are you going to do to stop me?” He taunted, “Anyway, I have business to attend to, toodaloo!”
And with that, his presence disappeared, leaving the two sisters in a state of shock. They both looked at each other for a moment as they realized what happened. Princess Celestia was the first to speak.
“Guard the Elements of Harmony, I must write a letter to Twilight. We will discuss the other matter later.” She commanded.
Princess Luna nodded, and quickly ran off towards the castle vault, meanwhile Princess Celestia summoned a quill and parchment, and hastily began drafting a letter to her student.
I was absolutely right in my earlier assumption, the rails leading up to the plateau could not hold my train. Whether it was due to the excessive weight or the years of neglect I didn’t know, but I made sure to slow down quite a bit before I made it all the way to avoid a huge accident. That didn’t mean my tech didn’t derail though, and I had to spend a few moments reassembling the large tech so I could make it the rest of the way.
The plateau lay ahead, just as barren as the last time I was here. It took some effort just to get my tech up on it, but a quick ramp solved that problem, and I quickly downsized to a more manageable tech to properly begin building a new base. Of course the essentials were first, and a quick fabrication station was up and running a moment later. Next was storage, which was also easy considering how little I had, that was something I would have to change in the future. After that however, there were some commodities.
I was running a little low on blocks, and resources for that matter, which meant anything extra wasn’t possible just yet. No easy defenses, no infrastructure, and no recklessness, that would have to wait. However there was one thing that was important enough to build, a radio tower.
Or perhaps not a tower per say, since they are pretty visible and I am trying to lay low for the moment, rather something else. Thankfully I had equipped my satellite with a radio, which meant I could use satellite communication, which certainly increased the range, but made it patchy in some areas. I would need more satellite coverage if I wanted to rely on it fully. Still, it would work for now.
A quick fabrication and setup of a satellite dish later and it was nearly complete. All that was left to do now was to-
Clap, Clap, Clap
The slow clapping of something behind me stopped my work, and I quickly moved my view to see whatever it was, which had somehow managed to sneak past my radar, something I was getting increasingly annoyed at. However what stood, or rather, floated there was something I was not expecting.
To say it was a strange creature was an understatement, with obvious asymmetry and haphazard construction. It looked like some mad scientist’s worst, or possibly best creation.
“My my! What a marvelous display you caused earlier. I must say, bravo! Bravo!” It clapped once more.
I had expected it to speak, considering all of the things that had happened recently, but I was not expecting its attitude. I also realized I had yet to fabricate any new speakers, meaning I couldn’t actually respond to it yet. So I had to go about making some real quick. The thing noticed my lack of response however, but just kept talking.
“That was a neat little trick you pulled as well, faking your death and all. You certainly fooled those ponies.” It spoke.
That certainly caught my attention, this thing somehow knew I was only one tech. How it did I didn’t know, but it meant it was smart, which made it dangerous. I got an eerie feeling , much like when I was face to face with Nightmare Moon, I would have to be wary about what I say and do around this thing. I finished making the speakers, and quickly set to making a circuit board to upgrade them.
Once again noticing my lack of response, the creature teleported right in front of my tech, right as I finished installing everything.
“You’re not ignoring me are you?” It asked,
“No, I’m not, now who are you and what do you want?” I asked, sounding a bit annoyed.
“Straight to the point huh? Very well then.” It said, then in a flash, it was decked out in all sorts of formal attire, suit, top hat, a cane, everything. “I am Discord! Lord of chaos!” Discord bowed, “And what I want, is you.” he finished.
Lord of chaos? Interesting title, at least the name fit, but what did it want with me?
“Elaborate.” I demanded.
“Gladly,” Discord responded, “You see as my name suggests, I do enjoy a little bit of mischief from time to time, and your little scene earlier really caught my eye,” He said, and proceeded to take out his eyes and begin juggling them, which was an incredibly disturbing sight. He continued a moment later, “So I came here to make a deal.”
“A deal?” I asked, a little unnerved about how easily he dismembered himself.
“Why yes. It would be a simple exchange of services,” Discord explained, “You would do something for me, and in return I can do something for you.”
“Such as?” I asked, getting genuinely curious. Based on what this Discord being has already displayed, it might actually be quite lucrative to work with him.
“That’s really up to you now, isn’t it?” He began, “See I can do many things, and can offer you just as much. Be it wealth, fame, or power, if you want it, you can have it.”
That certainly wasn’t suspicious, not at all, but perhaps this was worth pursuing.
“Okay then, and what would I be doing for you?”
“To quote Celestia,” Discord said, then his face morphed into an incredibly unflattering depiction of her, “'They have the potential to cause untolds amounts of chaos.'” He said in a higher voice, before reverting back, “You need only to do what you did earlier, just make a mess of things from time to time.”
“You’re asking me to willingly provoke a now hostile faction?” I asked,
“For a reward of course,” Discord answered quickly
“Uh-huh,” I said, liking this deal less and less by the moment, “But why me? From what you’ve told me, why can’t you just do it all yourself? Why do you even need my help?” I asked.
“Ah, good question,” Discord said, “It’s simple really, my brand of chaos is known to this world, which makes it easier for those ponies to counteract it, but you, my friend, are different. You aren’t from around here, which makes you so much harder to deal with, oh you should’ve seen the look on Celestia’s face when you pulled that stunt earlier.” He gave a small chuckle.
A tempting offer, but the idea of causing trouble that might result in retaliation from what was quite possibly this world’s only superpower was not high on the list, especially if it was only for a meager reward. Still, I had a few more questions for this Discord fellow.
“And what would legitimize this deal?” I asked.
“Why nothing of course,” Discord answered, “Only the both of our words.”
Major red flag, non legit deals are the types of deals you never take, that’s prospecting 101, but there was still a major problem.
“And should I refuse this deal?” I asked.
Discord’s smile disappeared, “I suppose we would just go our separate ways. Though I would recommend you reconsider.”
Was that a threat? Did this Discord just threaten me for not taking his deal?
Normally something like that would trigger a very aggressive response from most prospectors, myself included, but as of right now, I wasn’t feeling too confident in my ability to try and take him out. So it was probably best not to aggravate him. Still, I didn’t like what his deal entailed.
“Well Mr. Discord-”
“Oh please, Mr. Discord was my father, just call me Discord.” He smiled.
If I could’ve given him a stink eye I would’ve.
“Well Discord…” I repeated, “I’m going to have to decline your proposal, I’d rather play it safe than take an unneeded risk.”
“Shame.” Was all that Discord said, then he snapped his claws.
There was a flash of light, but nothing notable seemed to change.
“Now do be a dear and go mess with those ponies.” Discord commanded, pointing back down the train tracks.
What?
“What?” I asked out loud.
Discord gave me a very confused look, and snapped his claws again. There was another flash of light, but nothing else.
“Spin in a circle,” He tried to command.
“No” Was all I said in return, my uneasiness about him quickly leaving.
His brow furrowed, and he closely inspected his claws, snapping them a few more times.
“Spin,” Discord tried again.
“Still not doing that.”
“What the..?”
“Is everything okay?” I asked, more out of curiosity than actual caring.
“Yeah, it’s just…” Discord said, “This usually works.”
He floated over and tried to place a paw on my tech, but I quickly reversed out of his reach.
“You should probably just go.” I said
Discord turned around, defeated, before a lightbulb literally appeared above his head.
“Wait!” He exclaimed, “If I can’t control you, then I’ll just make more of you!” And he snapped his fingers.
Another flash of light, and an exact copy of my tech sat across from me, unmoving. I wasn’t too worried about it, considering it didn’t appear on the radar, but Discord was looking at it in anticipation.
It moved slightly, then proceeded to fall apart, collapsing in on itself as if it was completely hollow, considering it probably was.
“Oh come on!” Discord shouted
“Please leave.” I reiterated,
“Ugh! Fine!” He exclaimed, and began to slowly walk off.
I paid Discord little mind as he did that, and went back to finishing the communication array, all that I needed to do was set its frequency and activate it, which was easy enough. It did a quick scan, and soon found the satellite… along with something else, something nearby, something that wasn't from any of my things.
I looked back towards Discord, who had stopped mid stride, the mismatched horns on his head vibrating.
“Wait,” He said, “Is that how you communicate?”
Discord turned back around, another lightbulb floating above his head.
“That gives me an idea!” And he snapped his fingers.
In an instant, both my radar and the communications array were overloaded with signals, forcing them to shut down and reboot. That was something I was not expecting.
“What did you do!?” I demanded, a little peeved.
Discord just smiled, “I sent a message.”
“To who?”
“Well, everyone,” He shrugged.
It was then that I realized what exactly Discord had done. He had just sent a ping, on probably all radio frequencies, that was powerful enough to overload any radar or radio. Whoever it passed by would certainly notice, and it wouldn’t take long for people to trace it back to here and investigate.
“Do you realize what you just did?!” I was more than pissed off now.
“Something chaotic I hope,” Discord shrugged again,
Long before any of the Federation arrived, before any environmentalists arrived, before even traders arrived, the corporations and prospectors will, and all they will see here is a quick buck to make. They will gut this place and eradicate anything that stands in their way long before it becomes illegal to do so.
“You just doomed this planet to an endless war until it is stripped completely barren of anything useful and left to die.” I said,
“Wow, ominous much?” Discord said nonchalantly, “I’m just causing a little chaos. Now if you don't mind, I have somewhere else to be.” And he just disappeared.
I was left in a state of shock, I mean what would you do if some mysterious person came up to you and with a snap of his fingers just made your life exponentially harder? I had just lost the leisure of time, that radio wave was not going to stop, and while I probably still had some time before it reached Federation space, it was going to get there eventually.
I needed to pick up the pace, if I didn’t have complete planetary control by the time the first scouts arrived, then I would lose it all. I would need to plan, I would need to build, and I would need to do it fast.
To Be Continued…