//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Condition Green // Story: The Unknown Daughter's Reunion:Part 1 // by Disembodied_Pony //------------------------------// "What in Tartarus are you DOING Bolt?! The feedback is still fluctuating all over the place! Get your head out from between your legs, and tighten it down!" Quick Spark yelled. "You first!" "..bucking, kicking, blasted.." Lightning Bolt grumbled as his hooves hammered on the panel. "Hurry up, lame flanks!" She kept on "Yeah, yeah" he replied, adjusting parameters as fast as his hooves would work. "What is taking...Okay, better! Keep it coming!" She continued "Yes.. yes.. almost there..." "C'monnnn..." Bolt said aloud, as if urging the thing, his jaw clenched. The ship around them rumbling from the emissions, even at this distance from the gate. "GOT IT!!" Quick Spark screamed All at once, the grey colored mass of energy inside the ring, pulled out at the center forming a long cone. It's un-seeable target pinpointing a location dozens of light years away, locking on. Bolts of arcing light began forming across the surface of the cone like electric vines, coalescing at its tip in a point of light as bright as a microscopic sun. The cone's shape, becoming blunter and blunter by the moment as the blinding tip was pulled backwards towards the ring. Once the bright point of light reached the center of the rings diameter, it split into a ringed shape of its own, getting wider and wider. Coming into contact with the surface of the gate's inner perimeter, it faded to a very soft glow. "YESS!!" Both Spark and Bolt cheered in unison. Bolt slumping as his tension subsided 'we did it' A moment later, he was tackled out of his chair, pinned under his 'wonderful and obnoxious' wife. As they stared into each others eyes, sounds of cheering and hoof stomping made its way through the bulkheads. "Sounds like we don't have to give them the good news?" Spark presumed "Mhm-mhm, cmere you..." He said As they were about to kiss, their comm's beeped. Grunting in annoyance, they tapped their ear pieces. "Yeah?" "Congratulations You Two! Amazing work as always!" Light Splitter congratulated them. "Thanks, Light." Bolt said "A couple hours fine tuning, and it'll be smooth as butter sir" Spark added "You two are incredible. Take your time, lovebirds. You've earned it. Light Splitter out" The comm channel closing, Spark looked back to her husband; "speaking of smooth, c'mere!" A couple days later, word arrived of the Gate's completion and going On-Line. In the week that followed, over four hundred tests were performed of passage through it; back, to back, to back. Starting with simple probes, and ending with fully ponied ships. Many jumping on the chance to journey so close to the fabled world they heard so much about. Now, cleared for the empress's flagship's passage; All was go. In that time, her highness finished her tutelage of her envoy ponies. Instilling into them all that she could recall of protocol and etiquette from Luna's days. It might be a tad rusty and dated, but it was the best she had at her disposal. At the same time, Her Highness's personal flight crew familiarizing themselves with the flagship; had taken it for a few return trips to various colonies. Steady Wing, as the supervising engineer; jumping at the opportunity to provide quick tours of his beauty. At least, when he was not taking measurements and tweaking the dampeners. Spending a lot of time in the 'resonance hot spots', he was constantly making the tiniest adjustments to the dampeners. Attempting to make it completely silent and smooth at all speeds. Returning from is pre-mission test-flight to the 'Equus gate', as it came to be called... It assumed orbit above Earth, awaiting her highness, her envoy, and guards; arrival. Stepping into the sun light, Moon walked forward to her shuttlecraft, Ceremonial Guard Captain: Shadow Blade at her side. A hundred things on her mind; she stopped for a moment. Looking back on her castle, she asked herself: 'When I return, will I still look upon this sight as I always have?' Turning her head forward again, she continued on. As she walked up the ramp, she observed the other guards and envoys filing into the other craft. As she sat down and buckled in, she couldn't help but to think: 'I have done this hundreds of times before, yet this time? It feels different' Taking a deep breath, she looked out the window, over the skyline of the First City. 'My little ponies, lend me your strength?' she silently asked One by one, the fleet of shuttlecraft lifted off and rose into the sky.