//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17 
// Story: Near Human 
// by Element of Power 
//------------------------------//

Work was proceeding in a timely fashion. Utilizing the time dilation for the design process, and an army of micro builders on the pony side, Dr. Jovan watched as the next evolution of his project was brought forth. From within the outer shell of the mountain, an enormous cavern was cleared, while also removing much of the existing caves. In the center of it all, a circular platform was brought into existence. It hovered above the ground while rings rotated on varying axis around it, creating a spherical shape.

His creation, the result of his undeniable genius, would be capable of sending not only larger things, but non-living things as well. Of course, non-augmented living things would still be torn apart, but that doesn't matter. 

'Luckily, these ponies aren't vulnerable to those forces. It will be easier to study them on the other side.'

Off to the sides, four ponies stood on guard, staring at his creation. Of course, they wouldn't be able to fathom its inner workings, or the things he could do with it. 

They were assigned to be his entourage when he goes back to his world. He looked at the one off to the left, the one with the horn.

'I can't wait to see what makes those tick.'

They were merely guards, even looking alike. It would be all too easy to orchestrate a reason for their disappearance. After all, they were "crudely" jumping between worlds. Anything could happen.

Dr. Jovan felt his eye twitch. The Princess of these ponies had called his creations "crude". As if she was capable of understanding half of the forces involved. 

'Having the innate ability of teleportation does not mean you are the masters of it. Only those that understand it. And with their help, I will.'

A booming hum brought him out of his thoughts. It was ready.

Smiling, he gestured toward the pony guards. "Follow me."

He and the four pony guards climbed the stairs to the platform, before the stairs retracted behind them. His two cyborg guards were going to stay behind, to ensure nothing was tampered with. 

They entered the center of the platform, and his two guards activated the console. The rings enveloping the platform began spinning, each on their own axis. At this, the pony guards seemed skittish. 

"Hey, are you sure this thing works?" The unicorn guard said, worried. 

Again, Dr. Jovan's eye twitched. 'How dare he assume anything of my creation is faulty. Yes, I'll enjoy studying him,'

"Of course, my friend. There's nothing to worry about." 

They didn't seem calmed by this, but the machine continued anyway. The rings moved faster and faster, before a bubble of energy surrounded them. This promptly collapsed toward the center of the platform, taking the group with it and disappearing.


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E-30 and Blue Wing jogged through the sewers. Blue Wing was taking the lead, since he knew where to surface. As they traveled, Blue Wing seemed to get comfortable enough to ask his own questions. 

"So, what are you? I assume you are that escaped monster some ponies saw, but I've never seen anything like you."

'Ponies, not horses. I guess that makes sense.'

"It's complicated." E-30 explained. "I'm not from around here. I sort of ended up in the castle by mistake."

Blue Wing didn't look back, but continued to talk. "So you aren't some escaped magic experiment?"

'Not entirely wrong...'

"No. I'm a human. Came from a different world, or reality or whatever."

Blue Wing faltered at this, finally looking back. "Really? So I'm being held hostage by an alien?"

E-30 winced slightly. "Not really a hostage situation anymore..."

His pony acquaintance rolled his eyes at this. "Sure. Anyway, here's our stop."

They arrived at a ladder leading to a sewer cover. E-30 climbed the ladder to the top, with Blue Wing flying up next to him. Carefully, he lifted the cover, allowing him to peak through the gap. They were in an alley, leading to a mostly empty street. 

E-30 turned to the pegasus. "Where's the building?"

Whispering, Blue Wing said "The building to our right is the shop. Behind the building is their factory."

E-30 shifted the cover to look further down the alley. He couldn't imagine a factory being in the middle of a non-industrious zone of the city, but the factory was much smaller than ones on Earth. There was no sprawling infrastructure or towering smokestacks spewing noxious fumes. It just looked like a warehouse.

"Alright then. Let's go." E-30 moved the sewer cover to the side, returning it once he and Blue Wing crawled out. They quickly moved deeper into the alley, using dumpsters as cover. Soon, they came to a door in the alley leading into the factory. When he touched it, he could see the familiar shimmer of magic, just like the protected door in the castle. 

"We should have brought Comet for this. Maybe he could find a way to break that." Blue Wing said. 

E-30 shook his head. "I think I already know how to deal with these." He did the same thing as he did in the castle, allowing his creepy crawly bots to surge forth from his body, collecting on the locked handle. Blue Wing watched with unease as a point on the handle glowed brighter and brighter, the barrier glowing in response. Soon, the bots had made a hole, allowing them to enter the lock and melt in from the inside. 

As the barrier broke, and molten metal oozed down the door, Blue Wing looked at him and his bots. "What was that!? What are those things!?"

E-30 shushed him. "Not now. Lets get in here." He looked at the destroyed handle. 

'If they see this, someone might connect it to the door I broke in the castle.'

He allowed his bots to use some metal to recreate the handle, except without the magic. 

The two of them crept in, closing the door behind them. They had clearly entered the storage area of the factory, since there were tall shelves filled with boxes. Farther away, he could see the glow of heat, and hear the clanging of metal. 

He opened one of the boxes on the lower shelf. It was filled with stacks of shiny brass. 'Not really what I need. But if each of these boxes is filled like that, then this is a treasure trove of resources.'

Blue Wing nudged him, pointing a hoof at a sign that hung from the high ceiling. 

BRASS STOCKS

He looked at the pony and nodded. They needed to look for a sign for the elusive "Moon Steel". They went to the edge of the large shelves, peeking around the corner to the other shelves. Iron, Copper, Silver, many others, but no Moon Steel. 

'If they only give a limited supply away, then they must keep the rest somewhere else.'

They went to the very back of the shelves, moving through the lane behind them. Eventually, they saw what they were looking for. At the other end of the factory, a set of double doors had the words "Moon Steel" above it. Unfortunately, between them and their destination, there was the working area of the factory. Ponies bustled at anvils and furnaces, while huge crucibles moved along tracks from the ceiling. 

It wasn't particularly crowded, but E-30 still needed a distraction if he wanted to go unseen. He looked at Blue Wing.

"We're gonna push over these shelves. When that happens, run for the door. Stay low, and stay along the wall." He whispered. 

Blue Wing nodded and reared up to put his hooves on the shelf. E-30 put his hands on it, and began to push. Given the size of the shelves, and the heavy contents, it was mostly him doing the pushing. Slowly, the shelves leaned forward, and then toppled.

The two of them bolted like rats as the shelves collided with the other lines of shelves. Metal bars fell like rain from the boxes, creating an unbearable cacophony. The other shelves followed like dominoes, each releasing their own storage and adding to the sound. 

All around the factory, those that were able to stop halted their work, and rushed over to asses the situation. While that happened, the two intruders reached the double doors, which thankfully didn't have another barrier. Inside, E-30 saw smaller shelves lines with boxes. Opening them, he was greeted with his sought after prize. Stacks of the dark blue metal stared back at him, ready to be taken. 

While Blue Wing kept watch, E-30 plunged his hands into the box. His bots eagerly swarmed the contents, breaking it down and taking it into his body. He could feel his body being repaired with the improved metal, the various impurities of other metals being replaced. Once they were done, he looked down at himself. 

He looked the same as before, except now his body was dark blue, rather than dark grey. Despite the polished nature, there was no shine reflected from the surface. 

E-30 rushed to other boxes, allowing his bots to break down more to store in his body. This would make him heavier, but it was definitely worth it. 

Looking at Blue Wing, motioned to follow him. "Let's get out of here."

Through the doors, the commotion continued. They watched as shelves continued to fall, beginning to knock over things other than shelves. Eventually, the combined weight of the entire line of dominoes hit the wall, which was completely destroyed. Light poured into the factory as dust was kicked up. 

E-30 looked at the other side of the factory. "Let's go this way." There was bound to be a door leading out.

Before they could, a deep groaning was heard. Above them, bathed in the light from outside, one of the giant crucibles was being forced off of its track by a leaning shelf. Suddenly, the tension snapped. It rushed down toward  the ground, ready to turn the ponies below it into paste.

Without a second thought, E-30 rushed forward, to the surprise of Blue Wing. He pushed his legs, gaining immense speed.


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The six friends walked the streets of Manehattan, keeping their eyes peeled for the creature of interest. Pinkie was zipping around, looking at every crack and crevice with a magnifying glass. Rainbow Dash flew higher, getting a view of the rooftops. 

Their search was interrupted by a loud boom. They all looked at each other before rushing over to the source. Ahead of them, they saw the wall of a large building collapsed outwards, with confused ponies stumbling out. 

Twilight looked at her friends. "We've got to help them!" They went over to the scene, helping ponies get away from the rubble. All at once, they heard the deep groan of metal. Then, they saw a big crucible fall from the ceiling, ready to cause inevitable death. "NO!"

Twilight prepared to stop it with her magic, but it moved too fast toward the ground. Before she could stop it, its movement halted. The six of them, along with the ponies around them gasped and watched with wide eyes as the crucible began to move upward. Beneath it, terrified ponies watched as a creature covered in metal lifted the immense crucible, saving them from doom.