After going on about how awesome the new book was going to be, they soon arrived at Twilight’s place. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door and they were soon greeted by Spike. He had a contraption on his head and a small remote device in his hands.
“Hey Rainbow Dash,” he said. He seemed really focused on the projector screen.
“Hey Spike,” she replied. “Um, what’s that thing over there?”
She pointed to the screen which was currently displaying a night-time scene of two great white dragons engaged in combat with several dozen warrior-ponies. Leading the group was a tall unicorn covered in black full-plate armor. As Spike focused his attention on the device in his hands, one of the dragons on the screen sprayed a swath of fire at its attackers. Spike seemed to not hear her question, but he still spoke.
“No,” he said. “Just a friend at the door. Hey, watch out! They’re circling around. I think they have a mage with them.”
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo both cocked their heads in confusion. Who was he talking to? What was he doing? Where was Twilight? The last question was soon answered however, and the unicorn in question came down the stairs from the next floor up.
“Oh, hey Rainbow Dash,” she waved. “What’s Scootaloo doing here?”
“She was at the book store with me, getting the new Daring Do book. Oh, speaking of which...”
She pulled out the second copy of the book and tossed it to Twilight.
“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” she said as she took the book to a nearby desk. She would label it and file it away with the rest of the series later.
Setting it down, she signaled them to come over to the kitchen. Set out on the table was a large bowl filled with salad. Around the bowl was a loaf of bread, several types of cheese, plate of steamed veggies, and a pitcher of lemonade. The spread was rounded out with three plates and bowls set out around the edges, a set of napkins laid out around them.
“I HAD set out a place for Spike,” Twilight spoke up. “But I guess he’s too busy to join us.”
“Yeah, about that,” Rainbow Dash started. “What IS he doing?”
“It’s a new interactive virtual game. It allows players to take on the role of fictional beings back during the Pre-Classical Era. Right now, he’s playing with other players from all over Equestria.”
“How’s that possible?” Scootaloo chimed in. “There’s no one else here.”
“Well,” Twilight explained. “Thanks to the latest technological breakthroughs, you can link two machines together, no matter how far apart they are.”
Both pegasi seemed awed. Two machines from different places running the same program? Preposterous.
“Anyway,” she continued. “Thanks again, Rainbow Dash, for testing out my new flight suit.”
“Oh yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied. “No worries. But can we eat now?”
“Sure. Let’s dig in. Spike! This is your last chance to join us!”
“I’ll get something later!” the baby dragon yelled back. He was just too engrossed in his game.
As Spike made his choice, the unicorn and pegasi sat down and began eating. There was talk of all sorts, from local gossip to what the weather team was planning for the next few weeks and everything in between. When they were done, Rainbow Dash and Twilight cleared the table to get down to business. Unrolling a blueprint and a checklist, Twilight began.
“Okay,” she said. “So, the first thing we need to understand is that this flight suit is made of synthetic materials. As such, it has to be treated with care. It needs to be stored in a low-moisture environment at room temperature. Also, if anything happens to it, you can’t just throw it in the garbage. Synthetic materials are considered a low-level hazardous material. It needs to be taken to a proper disposal facility to be disposed of. Do you understand?”
“No problem, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash replied. “What else?”
“Well, as a prototype, you should know that the color is NOT what it will look like when it’s done.”
“…Okay?” Rainbow Dash was a little confused.
Seeing her friend’s look, she placed a box on top of the scrolls. Removing the lid, she revealed a mass of cloth. It was an ugly shade bright orange with black dots spread out in seemingly random spots. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the entire suit was made with thousands of overlapping scales. Scootaloo pulled herself up to get a better look at it and she couldn’t help but think of the potential. While she drifted off to imagination-land, Rainbow Dash pulled the suit out and looked it over. Underneath the suit, a couple of scaly plates sat at the bottom of the box.
“What are those?” Scootaloo asked.
“Those are wing-shields,” Twilight explained. “See, I couldn’t put the suit over the wings without damaging them. So, to protect them, I designed these shielding plates to go on over the wings to extend the fire-proofing beyond the flight suit. After all, what good is fire-proofing if you still end up getting hurt?”
As Rainbow Dash suited up, Scootaloo went out into the main room where Spike was still engaged in his battle against the warrior-ponies. His companion, the other dragon on-screen, had gaping hole in their wing. Meanwhile, a squad of pegasi were circling around with spears leveled while a group of unicorns fired a volley of magic beams from their horns. As they approached, Spike hit a button combination on his controller which made his character spray flames in a wave that swept over the pegasi and came down on the unicorns. The pegasi coming down on him scattered. A few of them, along with some of the unicorns, had vanished as the fire died off.
“Yeah!” Spike yelled. “Spend some of your points to heal your wings! Quick! I’ve got these guys.”
Scootaloo watched in awe as the unicorn in black- the leader- quickly regrouped their subordinates for another attack. It was like watching an actual warzone without being in any danger.
The battle dragged on and Scootaloo began to get into it. Soon, she was jumping and ducking as the attacks flew, acting as if they were going to hit her. Finally, after trying every trick he could think of, Spike’s friend fell to the attacks of the warriors. And soon after that, he suffered the same fate. As his character collapsed, the camera pulled back and text appeared on the screen that read ‘Lunar Republic Wins’. Immediately afterward, a scoreboard popped up. At the very top were the team leaders. One said ‘Sp1k3’ while the other said ‘MuffinProof’.
“Ugh,” Spike groaned. “It’s like this guy can watch two things at once! Either that or he has no life.”
“Who?” Scootaloo asked.
“This guy here,” he said, pointing at the screen. “This… ‘MuffinProof’ guy. I don’t know who he is, but he’s really good. He managed to organize all of his teammates at once. I couldn’t keep up.”
“What do you mean? How does it work?”
“Well,” he started. “This game takes place about a thousand years ago. There are four factions that you can choose to play as. There’s the Equestrian Royal Guard; the military that’s protected Princess Celestia for all this time. Then there’s the Lunar Republic: a sect that split from Equestria in retaliation for Princess Luna’s banishment. And then there’s the Rookery; the dragons from the high mountains. And finally, there’s Griffons; good fliers with the ability to use two weapons at once. Of course, they can’t wear heavy armor, so they can’t take much damage.”
“Wait, the Lunar Republic? There was no such thing.”
“Actually, there was. They seceded from Equestria for six months before finally falling apart. They built up a military, but without a strong government, they couldn’t stay sovereign. It’s all in Twilights books. There’s ‘Obscure Faces From Queer Places’, ‘The Everlasting Empire of Equestria’, and ‘That Which Never Was’ just to name a few. If you want, I can check them out for you.”
“Yeah, sure. That’d be nice.”
“Alright, then just wait right there.”
Spike put down his controller and spoke into his headset.
“Hey, I have to do something. Go ahead and set up the next game. I’ll be right back.”
Walking away from his game, Spike began traversing the library with practiced ease. Off the top of his head, he had no problem recalling where each volume was located. He climbed a ladder and grabbed a book, seemingly at random before climbing back down. Setting the first book on a small table, it was ‘The Everlasting Empire of Equestria’. It’s cover was blue and its letters were embossed in gold lettering. In the time it took Scootaloo to take in that information, Spike had already gone up another ladder and grabbed a second book. In less than a minute, all three books had been gathered and laid out for Scootaloo.
“There we are,” he declared quite proud of himself. “Just be sure to have them back within thirty days. Okay?”
She nodded and loaded the books into her saddlebag. As she locked the clasp, a loud ‘WOOSH’ sounded out from the basement, immediately followed by a series of loud yells which was quickly silenced by the sound of a fire extinguisher. As fast as they could run, Spike and Scootaloo dashed to the basement, eager to make sure everypony was okay. As the fire retardant fumes settled, Twilight and Rainbow Dash rose from the floor, checking themselves over.
“Well,” Twilight noted. “The fire is out. How do you feel Rainbow? Any pain? Numbness? Dizziness, tingling, or any other discomfort?”
As Twilight took up a quill and scroll, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings out. The scales on her suit seemed to have done their jobs, but the shields on her wings leaved a bit to be desired.
“Hmm…” She finally said. “The suit did its job, but these plates are just too heavy. I like the idea, but you need to make them lighter. Add to it that the protection only covers the top-”
She quickly quieted as she shed the wing-shields. They fell to the floor with a loud clatter as she checked her wings. The underside had been singed and a few of her feathers had been cooked.
“Oh no no no no no!” she panicked. “This can’t be happening! Not again! I CAN’T be stuck on the ground again!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted. ”I am SO sorry! Are you okay?”
“No I’m not okay! Do you have any idea how important well-kept feathers are for flight?”
“Of course I understand. And I said I’m sorry.”
Rainbow Dash sighed and drooped her head. She had over-reacted and she knew it.
“No, Twilight. I’M sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m not hurt or anything; it’s just a little singe.”
“Still, let me help you.”
Twilight levitated a medical bag and opened it up. Pulling out a bottle of ointment and a roll of tape, she stepped over to help treat her friend. Despite her pride, Rainbow Dash let Twilight wrap her wings.
Scootaloo watched in a sense of confusion. Rainbow Dash had already said that she wasn’t hurt, so why was she letting Twilight help her? She was well enough to help herself. Finally, Twilight had wrapped Rainbow Dash’s wings and had begun picking up the shields.
“Something light…” Twilight said to herself before glancing back at Rainbow Dash. “Thanks so much for your help. I think that with a bit of fine tuning- and some new, lighter materials- I can have a wing-shield two point oh by the end of the week.”
“A week? No problem.” Rainbow Dash then turned to Scootaloo and spoke to her. “Hey, squirt. Want me to walk you home?”
“Oh,” Scootaloo was dumbstruck. She COULDN’T let Rainbow Dash see her place. “No, that’s fine. I have a lot to read, so I’ll just get going now.”
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and ran up the stairs and out the front door. As she dashed across Ponyville, Scootaloo kept looking over her shoulder. While not quite a friend of Rainbow Dash’s, she knew how the blue pegasus felt compelled to help others.
Finally, Scootaloo reached the clubhouse. She was covered in sweat from the long run, made only worse by all the books in her bags. Dumping them out onto the table in the corner, she set them out for later use. She was just putting her bags in the corner when she heard the sounds of her friends coming closer. That’s right! How could she forget that they were going to try making a computer today? Quickly, she lifted the floorboard where she stashed all of her things and pulled out a how-to manual she had found in the garbage behind Vinyl Scratch’s place. The local disk jockey often maintained her own computers. As such, she had a bunch of books on repair and maintenance, Besides, she had thrown this one out, so it obviously wouldn’t be missed.
As Scootaloo reset the floorboard, Sweetie Belle and AppleBloom climbed up the stairs to the clubhouse. With a boisterous howdy-do, Applebloom stepped through the doorway.
“Well hey, Scootaloo,” she called out. “How is it yer always the first one here?”
Scootaloo was hesitant to answer, but she didn’t even get to think before Sweetie Belle spoke up.
“Anyway, what’s the plan? Rarity said that I can’t use her soldering equipment.”
“Ah wouldn't let you either,” Applebloom said chidingly.
With that bit of comic relief, Scootaloo dropped her worries for more constructive thoughts. As the Crusaders gathered round, they began sifting through the computer manual. It was filled with schematics and diagrams on every other page, most of which was more or less indecipherable. Breaking out some paper and pens, they began copying everything they saw. There was no real plan, but it made them feel like they were making progress. Comparing their sketches with each other’s’, they spent the rest of the day talking about pins and microprocessors.