//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Friend 
// Story: Mystic Machinery: Industry is Magic 
// by Conglomerate 
//------------------------------//

Time passed, progress was made. In the time before my meeting with Twilight, several things were finished, and others had sizable chunks completed.

The topside of my base was completed, with physical fortifications almost completely surrounding the top. In an effort to make it more inconspicuous, it was mostly flat, with slight recesses in order to fit plenty of armaments. It looked quite a bit like a castle, and because the stone was the same color as the rest of the plateau, it wasn’t immediately obvious from a distance. Unless you were coming from the entrance of course, but even then it was disguised as best as possible, and it was facing West, away from Canterlot. As were the rest of my surface constructions.

Speaking of armaments. I had harvested a load more Titanite, to the point where it started to overflow my storages down on the ground, my total gun count was now at least a couple hundred. Most were situated along the walls, which were all controlled by a defense A.I. with special instructions not to fire into the base. I cannot tell you how many things I’ve had to replace because my turrets couldn’t understand that the guns on the far side could not reach an enemy at the front.

So, with the first part of the base done, I assembled all the extra A.I.s together and deployed a tunnel clearing team. Most were just cleaners, as I needed a larger supply of Plumbite if I was going to finish the tracks, but there was a ‘manager’ of sorts. Since there were so many techs doing the same task in a small space, it was there to fix any mishaps or mistakes that might happen during the process. When working all together, they managed to move quite fast, and it would only be a one or two more days before the Plumbite tunnel was cleared enough for the first track.

The Ignite was growing well, the crystals weren’t quite big enough to harvest yet, but they were definitely getting there. Thankfully there was no discernable difference between the sands, which meant I could gather more without having to risk an interaction with the insectoids. Fuel cost though, was rather high, going off of two weeks per usable chunk, each kiln burned through about two units of Oleite per day. I had to exchange about thirty units of Oleite for one chunk of Ignite, which wasn’t the best trade in the world, but was useful to know for the future. When I had the resources and power to run it all electrically I would grow Ignite constantly, but until then I would only use the kilns if I absolutely needed it.

The side project that stemmed from growing Ignite went a lot better. Upon setting the cylinder to sand itself, it came out incredibly well polished after a day of constant turning, and I set up a few more immediately afterwards. With a quick trip to gather the materials for more lenses, I had doubled my Luxite production.

Which brings me to today, when the first batch was ready to harvest. The same day I was going to meet with Twilight.

This was a rare opportunity, even if I was kind of obligated to do it. If I could convince Twilight to vouch for me, then I may be able to go back to operating like I had before, without having to worry about fighting a war every time I encountered the ponies.

Of course that’s what I was hoping for, but not what I was expecting. I knew to keep my expectations low, and that this meeting was probably not going to go anywhere. Worst case scenario, it sours my relationships with the ponies, meaning I would have to take extra care not to reveal myself to them. Best case scenario, I get an in on the inner workings of their government, my own little spy to help me avoid getting into conflicts and possibly patch up relations in the future.

I was expecting it to go in between. We would talk, I may get a little information, they may get a little information, and then we go our separate ways. It was essentially a trade, just in a less physical sense. Ideally I would like to make this a semi-regular thing, where I could meet up with the ponies and try to settle things as best as possible. It all depended on this first meeting, which meant I needed to have everything I would ask, answer, and talk about in order.

I wanted to pry for information while making it sound like I knew nothing. I should be relatively open to talk, but I need to be careful with what I divulge, and try to steer the conversation in a way that would benefit me the most.

Classic business practices was all it was. Negotiating deals, convincing shareholders, and retaining a public image. It was a form of manipulation, which made me less inclined to use it on a more or less innocent party, especially one that considered me a friend, but this was important, and I needed to bring my A-game.





Just before noon, I was flying towards the meeting spot. In an attempt to misdirect, I had taken the precaution of approaching from a different angle as to my base, and I would be leaving in a different direction as well. Since I was out here, I stashed some Luxite nearby to trade for more Erudite later.

Appearances were important. I would be conversing through an alias: Tecker. He was in the form of a plane, and had an established personality, that being very brunt. To better help the meeting go along though, I may have to push past that and change how I talk. To avoid suspicion, I would need to come up with an excuse for why.

A desperate sibling trying to piece together the events leading to their sister’s death? That may work, but the voice in itself was an issue. It was a mimicry of the voice I had when I could only use baseline speakers, and as such was basic itself. It would be grating to listen to, and difficult to understand in some situations. I had a way to alleviate that, but not an explanation. Either attempt to force my way through the conversation, or reveal one of my tricks.

It was a trade after all, I’ll just have to see when I get there.

I was bringing weapons too, visible ones. Nevermind the fact that it was nearly impossible to hide something in the thin frame of the plane, it would be better to show that I was armed. It might dissuade any attempts to trap me, and I wasn’t going to use them unless things went South.

Speaking of South, it was the direction I was approaching from. The forest I had lived in before was in view, and so was the field where we were supposed to meet. Even from a distance, I could tell there was already something there, several figures were situated around a square on the ground, it was pinkish red and seemingly flush with the terrain. Upon closer inspection I could tell exactly what it was.

They were having a picnic. Twilight and five- no six others were gathered around a checkered blanket on one of the small hills. They all looked up as I passed overhead, and I took a moment to circle the area a few times. Nothing more than what was visible appeared on my radar, even as I neared the edge of the forest. Nothing would be in eavesdropping range, and nothing in the immediate vicinity either, Twilight’s group was more or less alone.

I came in for a landing close to their picnic, with some of them meeting me halfway there.

“See? I told you he would be here.” Rainbow Dash began, “You had nothing to worry about.”

“I was more worried he’d show up than not…” Rarity whispered back,

I guess they forgot about my keen hearing, though it definitely helped to place my view right between them.

“HELLO. ALL.” I announced, “TWILIGHT. SPARKLE.” I greeted as she stepped forward.

“Hello, Tecker.” She said after a moment, “How are you today?”

Honestly? Pretty good, things were progressing at a steady rate, and I was ready to start work on production. Dishonestly? “DISPLEASED.”

Twilight looked down, “I’m sorry to hear that, and I’m… sorry for your loss.”

“THANK. YOU.” I began, “THERE. HAVE. BEEN. MANY. THINGS. TO. TAKE. CARE. OF.”

They all looked down at that. I guess the information had finally come around. I would imagine so did the rest, so it wasn’t likely that I could rely solely on their pity.

Eventually Twilight cleared her throat, “What did you want to talk about?”

“ALLOW. ME. TO. MAKE. THIS. EASIER. FIRST.” With that, I made a show of plugging a circuit board into the speaker, “There are several things I wish to talk about.”

They all stepped back in shock to the change in my voice. It wasn’t all too different from before, being as close to the same voice as I could reasonably achieve, but now that I was actually using the upgraded speakers, it came out smoother, and allowed me to use tone and inflections. I had gone from a monotone robot to essentially someone speaking through a speaker.

“Where did that come from?!” Twilight asked,

“I figured it would be easier to communicate this way.” I explained,

“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t ya speak like this before?” Another from the group asked, the orange one.

I recognized her too, in fact, pretty much all of the ponies here I had seen before at the top of the dragon’s mountain. I only knew the names of Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, as the other three have yet to be introduced. To see them all together like this again meant they were close, a team or friend group of sorts. They had the capabilities to face dragons, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to see them all out here alone.

There was another however, and it wasn’t a pony. Standing close to Twilight was a… reptile of sorts. Purple and green scales, bipedal, and comparatively small, it was strange to see among ponies, but I couldn’t exactly ask about it now, I would have to wait until it came up in conversation.

Speaking of conversation, I was being asked a question.

“Communication through this method was not always available, nor is it very cheap. Considering the circumstances, it’s worth it.”

“Fascinating…” Twilight muttered, turning her attention to a piece of paper in her manipulation field. She scribbled a few notes, then looked up, “Oh! Um… I hope you don’t mind if I record this.”

That was a good point actually, recording this would allow for future review. I set my display to capture both audio and video and started recording as well.

“I cannot stop you from transcribing our conversations, but that limits what I am willing to say.” I would need to be extra careful with what I say now.

“Oh…” Twilight trailed off, she passed the paper to the reptile, “What um… What are you willing to say?”

Let’s get right into it, “To start, I would like to know what happened to Tecka.” Now how should I frame this? “She left to speak with your head of government, then sent an SOS not long after. The last transmission received before permanent silence was ‘evacuate.’ What happened?”

Twilight flinched at that, but otherwise nodded, “She was,” she cleared her throat, “destroyed during a scuffle with the Royal Guard. She resisted arrest the second time, and was… you know…”

Now this was interesting, “Second time?” I asked,

“She was captured and interrogated first, but then she escaped.”

This was all new to me, especially considering I was there. “Why was she arrested?”

“Didn’t she attack the princesses?” Rarity piped up,

Twilight nodded, “As soon as the meeting began, I didn’t even know she had a weapon on her.”

Okay, so both sides were lying. The only problem was I didn’t know how deep the lie was on the other side. How many others knew that I fired second? That I was the one who was attacked? These ponies might not know about it, but they might be lying about not knowing as well. Exposing such a lie could be useful, a way of undermining the princesses, but until I could find out for sure, I would have to play the role I chose.

I knew the truth, but I couldn’t disprove the princesses without giving up secrets of my own. I wasn’t willing to part with them just yet, especially for only minimal results, I would have to find the right time and place to divulge such information, and right now was not it.

“Tecka? My sister? She attacked the princesses?” I asked, enunciating disbelief.

“Yeah…” Twilight muttered, “It’s hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Apparently she didn’t even say anything about it during the interrogation.”

Let’s push a little harder.

“That doesn’t sound like her.” 

“It’s what happened though, and nopony knows why except Tecka, and she’s…” Twilight pursed her lips, 

Blind trust to the government I see. It made sense though, Twilight was a personal student to one of the princesses, so maybe there was a good amount of faith mixed in there.

“Unless you know something.” She continued,

I do, but technically I shouldn’t, so I’ll have to go with another as to why I don’t believe the lie. “I know my sister, Tecka was never one to attack unprovoked. She was always the more talkative of the two of us. Something must have happened.”

That certainly gave the group pause, and they all took a few moments to think over my words.

“But she lied,” Rainbow Dash began, “Like, a lot.”

“She did,” Time to come clean, or at least cleaner. “I won’t deny it. In fact, I was in on a few of them.”

“So how do you know she wasn’t lying to you?”

“Because I knew her, she didn’t lie out of spite or compulsiveness, it was a defense due to the situation we were in.”

“What situation would require one to lie so much?” Rarity asked,

“We were in unknown lands with barely enough to keep ourselves alive and no knowledge of its inhabitants. Our first few encounters with local life went less than spectacularly, especially intelligent life. I believe the first pony Tecka met went by the name Nightmare Moon. Nothing good came from that exchange.”

Several of them nodded in understanding, but Twilight just frowned, “That doesn’t excuse why she lied to me, her friend.”

“You were not friends in the beginning.” I said, “We had no reason to trust you.” 

“But we became friends!” Twilight argued, “So why didn’t she tell me then?”

Wow, she was really hung up on this friends thing. I guess she was one of the few I was on good terms with, and I would prefer to keep it that way, even if it was through a third party. 

“She did speak fondly of you, but there were things we agreed to keep secret.”

“Oh? Like what? What else did you lie about?” Twilight demanded,

I intentionally let out a sigh, “We agreed to keep our occupations, methods, and goals secret for the time being.”

“Because you’re prospectors?”

Oh? So some of my meeting with the princesses did make it out, but based on their story, there was hardly a meeting at all. Tecka was supposedly interrogated afterwards however, so there wasn’t much to pick at there.

“This is true, we are prospectors.”

“And that’s what you came here to do? Prospect?”

“In part,” I didn’t come here to prospect, but being able to has certainly been helpful in this scenario. “We truly did arrive here by accident, and before, our main objective was to simply return home. Now? My main objective is to figure out the circumstances of my sister’s death.”

“And is harvesting a ton of Cobalt from the moon a part of your ‘main objective’?”

So that was revealed too, that made it a little harder to verify my claims, but it acts as a great segue for my true intentions. “Long range transportation is expensive, there was enough for our means, but now things have changed. In more ways than one.”

“That’s right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “You put something on the moon! How did you do that?!”

The orange one stepped forward, “And just how ‘long range’ are yall talking?”

“I cannot say.”

“Because you’re unwilling to?” Twilight glanced at the reptile hastily writing down what was just said,

“Unable to.” I corrected, “We prospectors are legally bound; there is a standard protocol when communicating with alien entities.”

“And the Federation dictates that?” Twilight asked,

“Indeed.”

“So where is the Federation?”

“Can’t say.”

Twilight pouted, but otherwise didn’t continue. 

This was getting rather tense, if information from my meeting was getting out, then they should know I wasn’t from this world. If it was being kept secret though, then I could maybe use that to my advantage. Since this entire meeting was being recorded, then it was probably safe to assume that Twilight would attempt to verify everything I’ve said. Whatever lies from this can and probably will be used against me by the princesses, so I would have to get them to admit their own knowledge first before I try anything.

“What if we swear not to tell anypony?” The pink one joined in, “Pinkie swear even, can you break protocol then?”

They were pleading for my secrets now, one of the lowest forms of negotiation.

“You have not given me a reason to.” I said,

“What if we told you about Tecka in exchange?” Twilight brought up,

“You’re asking me to commit a crime for information on my dead sister?”

She immediately backed down, “No! I- That’s… I didn’t…” She sighed, “Let’s just move on.”

“Let’s.” So maybe they weren’t totally aware of my origin, but even if they weren’t told directly, there was probably enough information floating around for them to figure it out on their own.

“So why do you need so much Cobalt?” Rarity asked, “I hope it’s not all for your sister.”

“It’s not, I need it for” sustainability, manufacturing, development, and “protection.”

“You know, if you turned yourself in everything would be resolved much faster, you wouldn’t have to deal with the guard.” Twilight said,

“I doubt you’ll get much for blowing up some ruins.” Rainbow Dash tacked on, “But disturbing the peace? That can land you in some hot water, I should know.”

“You’ll have to forgive me for not trusting your government anymore, and by extension, your law. Until I can guarantee my own safety and freedom, I see no reason to work with your princesses.”

“Well, I don’t know the exacts, but if you’re taking Cobalt straight from the moon, then that seems a bit excessive for the Royal Guard. Not to say that they’re incompetent or anything.” Rarity said, ending it with a glance towards Twilight and the reptile.

“It is not just the government I need protection from.”

“Like that dragon we drove off?”

“That too, but that is still not everything.”

“Then what else do yall need protection from?” The orange one demanded, sounding a bit exasperated.

Finally, I could get into something I want to tell them. “My own kind.”

Cue a multitude of shocked and confused looks.

I continued, “Although we were not assigned to these lands, they hold a great deal of resources, and as prospectors, it is easy to recognize the great wealth that lies here. I will eventually have to leave, I have to return to the Federation at some point, and that will draw the attention of other prospectors back to here. Tecka and I had devised a plan to safeguard these resources from them, and in order to do that we need to use some of the resources ourselves.”

“That’s… really greedy.” Twilight said after a moment,

“Call it what you want, but that same plan of protection applies to you as well. We may have been the first to encounter these lands, but we will not be the last, and we are far from the worst. Tecka wanted to protect you ponies as well, and that plan remains unchanged. For now.”

“Then…” The yellow one finally spoke up, “What do you want?”

“I, want to know what happened to my sister, I want to know how and why she was killed, and I want to see all that’s left, anything and everything that can help bring closure.” That’s one way to snuff out a lie, just force it open with an all encompassing investigation.

“And after that?” Twilight asked worriedly,

“I will proceed as planned,” I added some strain to my voice, “It makes little difference to me whether ponies are included or not. Just know this, protection from others does not guarantee protection from me.”

They all took a step back.

“I will do what I must, whether you’re with me or against me.” I moved forward,

Intimidation may not have been the best tactic to use, but it was certainly effective when warranted. It matched my role well enough, though it looked like it was starting to hinder my progress.

Twilight stopped, then stood straight, “Is that what Tecka would’ve wanted?”

That was a good chance to dial it back. “Why do you think I’m here to begin with?” I began, dropping my previous tone slightly, “I am willing to work together for the time being, but I do not plan on stopping what we’ve already started. I owe Tecka that much.”

The group relaxed slightly. “What exactly have you started doing?” Twilight continued,

“I am unwilling to say.” 

“Right, protocol or whatever.” Rainbow Dash grumbled,

“No,” Twilight said, she held a hoof in front of the reptile, and it stopped writing to look up, “What if we don’t record your answer?”

That wasn’t exactly the most tempting offer. “I do not trust you enough to not simply fill in the blanks later.”

“Pinkie promise?” The pink one suggested again,

“Is there anything we can do to get you to tell us?” Twilight pleaded,

“You want my trust? Then help me get the answers I need, then we can talk about cooperation, but until then, stay out of our way.”

Her ears perked at that, “‘Our?’ Are there more of you?”

“There will always be more.” That was a little insurance in case any of my automated techs were discovered or I was in anything other than the plane.

I turned to leave. This meeting had gone about as well as I’d expected, there were a few things I still wanted to ask, but with the tone I had set, it would make more sense to just leave it there for now. I had gotten enough information on their part anyway; no matter how nice it may seem, you can never trust the government.

“Wait!” Twilight called out,

I stopped, that was what I was waiting for.

“I want to know what happened to Tecka too, but information is sparse, and none of it is supposed to be public yet.”

Wouldn’t being a ‘friend’ of Tecka and the personal student of the head of government mean she wasn’t a part of the public? No matter, I could still use this opportunity.

“You want to help?”

Twilight nodded, and with a gesture to the rest of the group, so did they, “Despite all the lies, Tecka was still a friend, and she was family to you. You deserve to know.”

I sighed, “Then find out what you can, and leave a message if you wish to speak again.” I turned to leave again, “I will monitor this area regularly, if I find anything out of the ordinary, I will come to you, understand?”

I got a blank stare for a moment, then Twilight blinked and nodded again, “Y-Yes.”

“Goodbye then, and…” I trailed off for a moment, “Thank you.” 

And with that, I started my engines and took off, heading East. I didn’t want to linger, otherwise the others might’ve realized that the reptile hadn’t resumed writing after being stopped.

To Be Continued…