//------------------------------// // Upward Movement // Story: Magic Augmentation Generator Infantry (M.A.G.I.) // by LordBarcha //------------------------------//         Patterner nervously floated around the hallway as General Conduis-Moi battered him with questions. “Do you have the names of the Actuators she was going to enlist?” he demanded, rounding off another set of questions. “Lightray, Mobile Armor, and Iron Wing.  I wouldn’t blame them, though.  At this point, she had limited her influence to pointing them to their machines.  They had no idea of her plans, nor had she given them any orders.” “I see.  Then nothing is stopping us from using what we have been so graciously given.” “If I might ask, sir,” Patterner began, “I would appreciate some time off after this.” “How long do you want?” “All of yesterday.” “You want this incident to have never happened.” “That is correct sir.” “Then you ask for what is already done.  Prepare the trio for immediate departure, then make yourself scarce for at least a week.  You are dismissed.”          Lightray slowly forced himself to stand, stumbling out of bed.  The voice of Patterner whispered into his ear, “This is the last time we will speak to each other, so pay attention.” Jumping from surprise, he backed away from the cherry red chimera that floated in midair.. “I’m supposed to tell you to go to Platform 42 for immediate departure.  The rest of your team will be waiting there for you.  Nexus has gone and so I will follow.  Goodbye, Lightray.”  With a snap of his fingers, he faded into a red mist, leaving a red line for Lightray to follow.                 He groggily followed the line, trying and failing to remember what had happened the previous day.  Stumbling along in silence, he finally came upon a window.  In the distance, the sun hung low in the sky.  Something shifted at the edge of his mind.  It was as though he was looking at something horribly and blatantly wrong, but he couldn’t quite grasp what.  The streets of Canterlot stretched out along the mountain, just as they always had.  Suddenly, he realized.  The sun wasn’t moving.   He quickly corrected himself, however,  Of course the sun isn’t moving.  It never moves.         Shuddering, he hurriedly followed the line along the hallways.  As he strode, recent events slowly started to return.  He immediately wished to forget them again.  Almost an hour passed as he walked through the deserted hallways, before he finally and abruptly emerged into a crowded chamber.  At one end, a wide staircase led up to the streets of Canterlot, as the large sign would suggest.  The other broke into a number of smaller hallways, each one labeled with a set of glowing runes.         How did I end up here?  he wondered. This is the Canterlot Transportation Hub.   Turning, he found the path back into the tower blocked by a smooth marble wall.  With no other options, he followed the line to its destination, an archway labeled, “HSC Platform 42”  As he stepped through it, a faint vibration ran through the floor.  The archway had sealed behind him.   At the end of the hallway, two ponies waited for him.  One of them, a slate grey earth pony, he recognized as Iron Wing, the other was a violet pegasus. Neither looked particularly aware of his presence.  In fact, they both stood listless and glassy eyed.   Feeling obligated, he broke the silence, “So, you’re the team Nexus told me about?” The pegasus jerked back to awareness.  Catching sight of his mismatched eyes, she addressed him.  “You’re the pilot of The Mournful Lover.”  It wasn’t a question.         “Let’s get the introductions out of the way,” Iron Wing stated, “As you should both know already, my name is Iron Wing.   I now pilot The Haze Lord.”         “My name is Lightray. You know what I pilot.”         “I’m Mobile Armor,” she began, before collapsing.         “What’s wrong?” Iron Wing demanded, crouching to look at her shuddering form.         Her twitches gave way to full bodied laughter, “Just look at us,” she gasped, “We’re hilarious.  Think for a second.  It’s been less than twenty four hours since we entered that building.  In an instant, I went from MAGI engineer to the rarest breed of MAGI pilot.  I’m sure we share many aspects of this story.” “You’re right,” Lightray added, beginning to grasp the absurdity of his position. With a gentle hiss, a part of the wall slid away, revealing a small capsule, obviously built for four.  Iron Wing helped Mobile Armor to her feet and they entered the machine. Taking her seat, Mobile Armor began to exposit, “I’m assuming that none of you understand our mission, so I’ll lay it out as simply as I can.  We’re being sent out of Equestria in order to find Luna and Celestia.  The hope is to bring them back and put an end to this war.  It’s a very simple mission, even if it seems impossible.” “So we can add ‘Chosen Heroes’ to the list of absurdities,” Lightray joked. “Perhaps we should introduce ourselves a bit more thoroughly, if we are to be working together.  I would certainly like to know more about my comrades.”   “All right then,” Lightray announced, “I’ll start.  I was born on a small farm, just south of the Crystal Wastes.  I grew up at the edge of Equestrian territory, albeit the more stable edge.  Our town was rugged and built for war.  Unearthly monsters are the only remaining inhabitants of the wretched Crystal Empire.   They’re as sharp and uncaring as the broken glass that makes up their bodies.  Needless to say, I learned to use a mace at a very young age.  Life was hard but manageable.  My father would take me on excursions into the Wastes to recover some of the books from the Empire’s library.  I eventually became an oddity.  A scholar in a discipline lost for so long that it was rendered obsolete.  One day, an Actuator landed outside our settlement.  He told me about the wonders of Canterlot, and the privileges of an Actuator.  So I arrived here yesterday, intent on securing a route to continue my research.  Someday I’ll return home with the knowledge I need to deal with those monsters once and for all.”         “That’s an interesting history,” replied Iron Wing, “Not just anyone can survive the attacks of a crystal revenant.  I look forward to working with you.  My own story is nothing so grand.  I grew up in the industrial and logistical capital of Equestria, Ponyville.  Born into House Chroma, I was expected to continue the family business.  Unfortunately, weather control is not something an earth pony can do.  Thankfully, my family understood and did their best to help me find another interest.  For a few years, I was allowed to work on the paperwork.  Eventually, I discovered a love of flight.  I heard that Actuators spend a great deal of time in the air, so I attempted to become one.  My family was very supportive.  They pulled some strings to help me get accepted for testing.”         “Rather than expositing for a ridiculous length, I’ll just say this.  I grew up in House Eclipse.  House Sanguine had been trying to wipe us out for years.  After all, we’re the only other noble house that can trace its ancestry back to an alicorn princess.  Only timely intervention from Spiral Nexus prevented my assassination.  Now that I’m aware of my relation to her, I suspect that there was an ulterior motive.  It was clear to me then that I had to look for a lower profile position if I wanted a quiet life, so I renounced my rights as a member of a noble house and went to study under Nexus.  As long as I don’t make any attempt to reclaim my old position, I should be reasonably safe.”         “I’ll go ahead and add ‘motley crew’ and ‘quirky’ to the list,” Lightray chuckled, “We really are quite cliche.”         A smooth, mechanical voice announced, “Arrival in Central Ponyville, Platform 372B, in one minutes.”         “We’ll be getting off here.” Mobile Armor stated, “You know the city, Iron Wing, I’ll be counting on you to help guide us.” “Of course.  May I ask where we are headed?”         “We’ll be traveling to Moon Street, wherever that is.”                  “That’ll be in the lower levels somewhere.  The higher levels only have numbers.  We can stop by my home.  Mum will be overjoyed that I befriended someone from House Eclipse.”         Silently, the doors opened, revealing a smooth metal corridor.  At the end, a guard stood stiffly.  As they approached, he presented a set of badges.  “You’re the new A class Actuators, correct?”         “That would be correct,” Mobile Armor answered.         “Then you will need your identification badges.  You’re expected to report for transport to Nidhogg within twenty four hours.  Please report to Runway 15 when you are ready.”  Bowing deeply, the guard stepped to one side, allowing them to exit into the crowded center of transportation.         A shrine to the art of logistics, the building stretched on as far as the eye could see.  Ponies walked, climbed and occasionally scrambled through vast hallways and cavernous chambers.  Thankfully, a map of the facility was readily available.  It detailed hundreds of different transport routes, each one labeled with a means of transport and departure time.  With a flicker of runes, the map shifted, showing another floor of the vast hub.         “And this is why Ponyville is the heart of the Republic!” Iron Wing shouted over the din, “Ninety percent of all goods travel through this building on the way to the edges of the empire!  Stay close to me!  If you get lost, there’s no way we would be able to find you again!”         The pair nodded and followed him upward.  Each floor was in the shape of a ring.  At the edges and center, stairs allowed upward movement.         “So, what’s this about houses?”  Lightray asked Mobile Armor         “I had almost forgotten, you grew up on the outskirts.  Here’s a history lesson; my great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Princess Cadence, was left behind when Celestia and Luna disappeared.  Unfortunately, something had happened to her.  She was irrational, dangerous and certainly unfit to rule.  A week later, she vanished just as mysteriously as the other two.  Documents were recovered that left the ruined kingdom in the hooves of Twilight Sparkle, my equivalently great aunt.   However, she was unwilling to leave an absolute monarchy in the hooves of a mortal, not even herself.  She attempted to create a republic, but was opposed by the various nobility.  Not wanting a civil war, she established a relatively simple system.  Laws are approved by two groups.  One is composed of the leaders of the various Noble Houses, and one is elected by the population as a whole.  Most of the Noble Houses were actually established by Twilight.  For example, my family, House Eclipse, was defined as the descendants of Princess Cadence.  Ironically, a Noble House was forced upon her, only to have her disappear, leaving no heirs.  It’s known as House Phantom, and the seat is still held for her as a gesture of reverence. Because of their clout in politics, Noble Houses tend to have significant economic power as well.  How concentrated this power is varies a lot.  For example, House Sanguine is a total of three members.  The head of the family, his wife, and his heir.  House Chroma, the descendants of Rainbow Dash, are more than a thousand in number and hold elections to determine who will represent their interests.” Further exposition was interrupted by Iron Wing’s frantic shouts, “Pay attention!  I almost lost you!”   As they traveled further and further up, the crowds slowly started to thin, and the halls to narrow, until they finally emerged into a deserted floor.         “We’re heading up to the roof,” Iron Wing announced, “I’ll be able to arrange transport from there.  I really hope you’re not afraid of heights.  Have either of you been in Ponyville before?” “I got lost here on my way to Canterlot, but I never saw the city itself.” Lightray admitted sheepishly. “I never had the chance.  I was either too busy working, or trying to not get assassinated.”         “Then you two are in for a treat.”   Whipping out a small keycard, he touched it up against a plate on the wall.  With a hiss, a side passage opened and light poured into the room.  Stepping out, Iron Wing beckoned. “Welcome to the tiny, backwater town of Ponyville.”