“Day twelve.” Twilight looked into the camera lens and sighed. “Flight test number four. Attempting mid-air navigation and thrust control. Let’s... let’s get this over with.” She adjusted the mouth control and positioned it in front of her. “On three. One... two... three.”
With a pop, jets at the bottom of each boot flared to life as they were pumped with magical energy. The flames increased in intensity as they lifted Twilight off the ground, and she desperately fought to keep herself stable. It reminded her of the single time she attempted to go ice skating.
Once she was several feet off the ground, her acceleration slowed and she came to a delicate hover. Her limbs wobbled and swayed, but otherwise kept her upright. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she leaned forward and began inching in the same direction. Alright, good, this is working. I am in the air and moving forward. Yes. Good. she thought, beads of sweat beginning to form on her forehead.
After travelling no more than a foot or two, she came to a shaky stop and leaned the opposite way, moving backwards. The movements felt more natural than they had moments before, but she was still shaky. Basic control established... time to do it a bit quicker.
Twilight leaned farther this time, sending her nothing short of zipping through the air, which was met with a panicked resistance and attempt to stop. She lifted one of her forehooves, which sent her off balance and into a spin. “Ah!” she screamed, taking her mouth off the controls. The thrusters immediately cut out and she plummeted to the ground, sliding across the floor as she hit it.
“Should a different test be performed?” Dusk Shine queried.
Twilight groaned and propped herself up on one hoof. “No, I need to learn this.” She stood up the rest of the way and readjusted the controls. “I’m going to get this right.” Biting down, she took to the air with a quick burst of magical energy, a determined look on her face.
Carefully, she moved her legs and body so that she floated in the direction she wanted. She went through forward, backward, and both side motions before moving on to the faster movements again.
She moved to the far end of the lab, until she spun around and had her tail brush the wall. The opposite side had an old poster hanging on it; a Wonderbolts promotional picture that Dash had given her years ago. She was going to reach it in record time.
Twilight cracked her neck and focused on the poster. She felt how each boot lifted her, and how the force changed as she tilted and angled her hooves. She felt how the rest of her body reacted to the movements, and how certain motions caused her to move. Once she had broken it down into math and science, it became nothing more than another problem to solve.
And I know the answer, she thought, lowering her head. With one last breath, she bit down harder on the controls and leaned sharply forward, sending her shooting across the room. While her path was wobbly, she remained on target, and just before hitting the wall she twisted herself so that her boots made contact. A loud metallic clang echoed through the room as she connected, and Twilight could’ve sworn she made several dents. Then, before she fell, she kicked off the wall and landed on the lab floor with a thud.
Twilight spit out the controls and looked upwards, breathing heavily from both adrenaline and exertion. “Yeah, I can fly.”
She allowed herself a few moments to soak in the victory before shaking herself off and unstrapping the boots. “How’s that plating coming, Dusk?” she asked, stepping out and levitating the heavy, metal hoofware over to her workbench.
Sitting upon it was a rough helmet that looked like it conformed perfectly for Twilight’s head. It had no paint and no polish, it even had some hastily taped exposed wiring, yet the two slits in the faceplate managed to make it seem imposing. The only feature it had that looked semi-complete was the gleaming horn on the top, which had an engraved spiral twirling from the base to the rounded tip.
“The designs are 97% finished processing, and a virtual walkaround will be available shortly.”
“Good,” she replied, picking up the helmet. Twilight pulled the faceplate off and slipped the rest of it over her head, patting it down and shifting it until it was snug. “Hmm... how about a bit of magic amplification testing?”
“I wouldn’t recommend that in an enclosed area, Twilight.”
“I’ll be careful with it,” Twilight retorted, waving a dismissive hoof in no particular direction. She took one of the wires from the helmet it and plugged it into the same adapter the boots used, drawing power from the mage reactor. The sudden influx of power caused the spiral on the horn to light up and pulse with energy.
Twilight walked to the same testing area used for the flight and readied herself. Then, she glanced upwards. “Are you getting this, Dusk?”
The AI sighed. “Unfortunately.”
“Hey, don’t get smart with me,” Twilight retorted, with a smile. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Of course you do.”
Ignoring Dusk Shine, Twilight spaced her legs apart and braced herself slightly. “Day 12. Magic Amplification Test #1. Firing a fairly simple magic bolt to gauge enhancement capabilities of the mage reactor. Going on three. One...”
Under the helmet, her horn lit up in preparation of the spell, and the newly introduced magic flowed through the helmet’s metallic horn, giving it a deep magenta glow.
“Two...”
The magic intensified, causing the light running through the spiral to flood with an almost blood red magic color. The energy hissed and crackled, threatening to escape its container like an untamed bolt of lightning.
“Three...”
A dull hum filled the air as the energy built up within the horn compartment, fueled by both Twilight’s natural magic and the limitless power of the mage reactor. Small arcs of crimson electricity danced across the surface, occasionally bolting off and fizzling in an instant. Twilight glanced upwards briefly, having a fleeting moment of doubt which was quickly expelled from her mind.
She let the energy unleash as the spell fired off. Twilight quickly found herself flying backwards as a massive bolt of energy erupted from the top of her head, surging through the lab and burning the air around it with its white hot intensity. The unicorn tumbled across the ground, similar to a stone skipping across a pond, until she smashed into the opposing cabinet. She soon found herself covered in a pile of discarded boxes and manuals with the thick smell of burning in the air.
“Performing fire safety measures.” Dusk Shine’s voice echoed through the room, followed by the telltale sound of a fire extinguisher shooting off. Twilight stumbled out of the pile of junk, only to lose her balance and fall over again. After a moment of rubbing her head, she shakily stood up and looked over the aftermath.
The wall she was aiming at was nothing short of annihilated, with chunks of crumbled stone scattered everywhere in front of it. Dirt from outside the walls leaked into the lab, while the few things that were around the area were charred and smoking. Fire extinguisher foam was splattered all about from Dusk Shine’s efforts.
Twilight blinked several times and tried to open her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t find anything to say. She merely took the helmet off, noticing the horn was smoking and red hot. Finally, she gulped and croaked out, “Magic Amplification... successful.”
- - -
Explaining the large hole in the wall to Spike wasn’t the easiest thing Twilight had ever done, but with a bit of a story and a teeny tiny lie, he wrote it off as another one of the mare’s crazy scientific exploits. Once the suspicion was off of her and she had her typical privacy back, Twilight went straight back to work on her armor. In the several days it took to repair the wall, she had pieced together most of the prototype plating and was ready to try it on for the first time.
All around her laid various pieces of metal, all shaped and conformed to different parts of her body. They all held a dull grey color, for they were still crude and merely meant to fit together. “This was calculated all to fit, right?” Twilight asked, her eyes scanning over the numerous bits and parts.
“Of course, Twilight,” Dusk Shine replied, bringing up a scale model on a nearby monitor. Twilight watched the model spin around as the pieces lined up with it. After a few seconds of watching the animation, she smiled, then looked back to the parts with a more determined gaze.
“Help me out with this, Dusk,” she said, horn lighting up. Wordlessly, a light, semi-transparent monitor hovered over to her and showed a picture of one of the parts, pointing to an area on a pony. It was a setup as a construction manual, with each step adding a new part.
“Step one: Fasten boots,” the AI began, shining a beam of light onto the set of boots. Twilight slid them over with her magic and stepped inside, then tightened the straps and secured them to her hooves.
“Check!” she said, smiling. Dusk announced the next part and pointed at the corresponding piece, waiting until Twilight had stated she was ready. This process continued for some time, slowly coating the unicorn in a layer of metal armor. Finally, she attached both helmet pieces around the sides of her head, taking care to tuck in her mane, then latched the faceplate over the remaining hole.
Her face was surrounded by darkness for a moment, with only a small bit of light seeping in through the slits on the front. Then, the inside came to life and one by one, filled her vision with charts, graphs, and a much clearer view of the world around her. “Support systems are working as intended! Dusk, get in here.”
After a few seconds, Dusk’s voice reverberated through the inside of the helmet. “At your side, milady.” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the chivalrous display, but quickly got down to business.
“Alright, first things first. Import the settings from the lab. Everything should function relatively the same in here.”
“Settings successfully loaded.”
Twilight noticed various preferences and adjustments happening to the hovering interface around her. “Good! Now, let’s do a quick walk around to make sure everything’s working.” She stepped forward, feeling the suit match her movements and walk with her. The motions were smooth, responsive, and most importantly, natural. She made an effortless lap around her drawing board, then trotted another one. “No clunkiness, no metal grinding together, fairly non-restrictive... It’s perfect!”
“I’m thrilled that you think so, Twilight.”
“Why, is something wrong?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“First run scans indicate movement efficiency is only at 47%, with power efficiency even lower at 32%.”
“Oh, of course. That’s to be expected,” Twilight replied, turning to face the drawing board. “This was only a test fit, after all.” She lifted a hoof up, finding it wasn’t quite as non-restrictive as she thought, and managed to bring up the model. “I can already see some problem areas in the shoulders and knees, not to mention the tightness on the hock if I were to stand on my hind legs. Think you can do something about that?”
“Beginning armor optimization.” Before Twilight’s eyes, the plates on the model began to shift and mold. Some parts shrank while others bent and stretched. Others disappeared entirely as they were replaced by surrounding ones. When the model went through its second rotation, Dusk announced that the optimization was complete. The armor was much more refined and sleek, with certain areas broken down into strips of metal that could fold into each other and conform.
Twilight spun the model around and smiled. “Now, that’s what I’m looking for. What are the numbers?”
“Movement efficiency has increased to 70% while power efficiency has increased to 65%. In its current state, these are the highest the suit can achieve without sacrificing protection or utility.”
The unicorn nodded, picking some of the holographic pieces off and inspecting them. “Very good. Get a blueprint and switch systems to production mode. I want to get this finished, calibrated and tested ASAP.” She placed the parts back and hid the model, then trotted over to her desk. Her horn lit and produced a pencil and paper from the desk, which she placed in front of her. “While you’re doing that, I have some planning to do. I need to get this thing on and off somehow...”
- - -
Evening light flooded through the windows of Twilight’s home as the sun descended below the horizon. Twilight herself sat on the living room couch, wearing a thin, white shirt filled with various burn marks and grease stains. Her mane was unkempt, with various strands sticking every which way. She quietly sipped at a cup of tea while watching the news, which was still focused on the state of her company.
Twilight could only sigh as it went over stock drops and falling percentages everywhere, followed by business-type ponies explaining their reasons for why the company would shortly go under. I’ll be back soon. I’ll show them what Twilight Sparkle is made of.
A knock then came from the door, calling Twilight’s attention. She turned her head in the direction of her foyer and set the tea down.
As she walked to the door, she made a vain attempt to tidy up her mane, which probably ended up making it worse. Taking a breath, she opened the door. At first she only saw Trixie, but opening the door further revealed that Filthy Rich was there as well. Twilight couldn’t help but notice Trixie avoiding eye contact and shuffling about in place, while Filthy seemed calm. There was even a small trace of a smile on his aged face.
“Twilight, so good to see you,” he said, extending a hoof. She returned the hoof shake, all while having a curious look on her face. “You look surprised,” Filthy added, his expression softening.
“Well, I sort of am,” she admitted, looking between the two of them. “What brings you two here?”
Filthy grinned and reached a foreleg around Trixie, pulling her next to him. “Ms. Lulamoon here told me something very interesting about you, Twilight! Something you apparently haven’t shared with anypony yet.”
Twilight gulped, quickly flashing a glance to Trixie.
“So, how about we talk about that reactor?” Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed Trixie shudder at the last word. Twilight herself, though, could only smile and nod. Her secret had been revealed to yet another pony, so there was no use hiding it from them.
“I... Sure. Come in,” Twilight said, stepping back for the two of them. As they passed by, Twilight closed the door and gave the blue unicorn a heated glare, which went unnoticed. The three of them stepped into the living room, where Twilight quickly turned off the television. Filthy and Trixie sat on one of the soft couches while Twilight sat on the side couch, not much differently from when Trixie had asked about the device. “So, what do you want to know?” she asked.
“I’d like to see it, if you don’t mind,” Filthy said, glancing to the glowing section that hid under a thin veil of cloth. Twilight nodded, levitating the shirt off her body and setting it aside. Even though it was the third time she’d revealed the reactor to anypony, her heart still beat nervously within her chest.
Filthy Rich craned his neck forward to get a better look at the device. “Very curious indeed,” he said, tapping at the prickly hairs under his chin. “And you were able to build this in captivity?”
“With a box of scraps, no less,” Twilight answered, her eyes shifting downward briefly. “This isn’t the original, though. I was able to use my personal lab to refine it.”
His eyes narrowed as he nodded. “Interesting... Now, Trixie has told me she’s been having some difficulty getting you to present this to the board. I feel they, and the company, would be very interested in something like this.” He then chuckled, looking up at her face. “And I’m pretty interested myself. It’s very advanced.”
Twilight smiled. “Thank you, but it’s not perfect by any means. It’s far too inefficient to be mass produced yet, and I’m not even sure if it’s completely safe.”
Filthy nodded once more, this time in understanding. “It’s always like you to keep safety a priority, Twilight. Been like that from day one, hasn’t it?” He settled into his seat and wistfully sighed. “It’s still hard to believe how much of an impact you’ve made on Equestria.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be here without the generous investments from the Rich Corporation,” Twilight added, with a sly smile. She then blinked and looked around her home, then to the reactor. “None of this would be here, really.”
“I know a promising idea when I see one, Twilight.” Filthy then motioned towards the reactor. “And that’s what I see when I look at that glowing cylinder. Are you sure you don’t want to present it? I’m sure Trixie could get some of her team to help with it. She’s a smart mare.”
His request was met with a frown and a shaking head. “I appreciate the offer, but this is a personal project of mine. It stays with me.”
Filthy cleared his throat and then stood up. He gave himself a brief shake and a stretch before turning to Twilight. “If that’s how it is, then that’s how it is. I can appreciate a mare who sticks to her guns.” He then extended his hoof and shook with Twilight. “I’ll be taking my leave now, but it was nice to see you. Hope you’re feeling better.”
“Much, thank you,” Twilight replied. “Here, I’ll see you out.” The two of them walked to the door, where Twilight said her goodbyes and let the old stallion out. She waved as he departed to his carriage, then closed the door, a scowl on her face. As soon as it clicked shut, she stormed into the living room.
“Just what are you thinking?!” she yelled, pointing at Trixie. “Are you trying to let all of Equestria know that I have this?!”
“No, it’s not like that,” Trixie protested, standing up and getting eye level with Twilight. “It was just an accident, I swear!” She gently put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “We were talking about the direction the company was going in and it just slipped out. After that, I figured... well... you might listen to him.”
Twilight’s furious look softened as the anger subsided. The irritation, however, did not, and she shrugged the hoof off her. “...Fine. But don’t let it happen again. You know how I feel.” She stepped over to the couch and floated the shirt to her back, draping it over her.
“I wish you would’ve listened to him.”
“I’m not having this conversation again, Trixie,” Twilight said, with a sigh and glance in the other mares direction. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be heading in early tonight.” With a flick of her tail, she made her way to the stairs. “You know where the door is. Dusk Shine will take care of the security.”
“If you insist, Twilight,” Trixie mumbled, defeated. “Are you at least coming back to the company soon?”
“Soon,” Twilight replied, making her way up the stairs. “Goodnight, Trixie.”
Trixie snorted. “Hmph. Goodnight.” With a sigh, she trudged towards the front door.
- - -
Filthy Rich sat in his dim office, staring at the bright computer screen in front of him and tapping his forehooves together. A smoldering cigar laid in an ashtray, nearly snuffed out from neglect. The old, leather chair creaked under his weight as he rocked back and forth, watching the numbers and charts on his monitor. Every few seconds it would update, always declining. With a snort, he closed the page.
After a few moments of silence, he typed a few words and hit the enter key, bringing up numerous results related to Twilight’s capture. “Hmm...” he hummed to himself, looking through some of the entries. Filthy stumbled on a particular article and opened it up, mumbling its contents as he skimmed through. His eyes briefly widened as he caught several details, and once he reached the end, he picked up the earpiece to his phone and put it on.
He typed several numbers into the keypad and waited as the phone played off its typical dial tone. He tapped his hoof against the wooden desk impatiently as it rang, but it eventually hit the answering machine. With a grumble, he dialed another number.
The owner of this one picked up rather quickly. His voice was hushed and quick, as if he was in a hurry to end the call.
“It’s me, Filthy Rich,” the old stallion said, leaning back. “I see you’ve gotten into some very interesting business recently.” The other wasn’t pleased, and urged him to get to his point. “Fine, fine, I need some things from you. Mainly, some documents.”
Filthy frowned as he was met with disagreement. “In that case, put your superior on the line. He might know who I am.” After a moment, the caller agreed and told him to wait. Then, he hung up. Filthy merely closed his eyes and waited, taking in the silence around him.
Several minutes later, his phone rang, and looking at the number, it was who he originally tried to call. “I’m glad you called. Yes, this line is secure. No, I’m not with the royal guard. Look, I have to ask you for some things. I’ll make it worth your while if you consider.” The other caller tentatively agreed to hear him out.
“I need blueprints,” Filthy stated, spinning his chair to look out the window. “Everything that was left behind. If you can do that, I’ll send you everything you need to reproduce them.” The caller was justifiably skeptical of the offer. “Look at who I am. Look at what I’m the single largest shareholder of. I’m helping you help me out, you hear? And in return, you’ll get the technology you need. I’ll wire you the specifics if you’re interested.”
A careful moment of consideration was taken, before the caller finally agreed. A smile slid across Filthy’s face as the deal was struck. “I’m glad to hear it. You’ll be getting your info soon. Oh, and who should I be addressing?” He paused, taking a pen and paper out, then wrote a name down.
“Well then, pleasure to start doing business with you, Garrett. You won’t regret it.” With that, he hung the phone up and leaned back in his seat, which let out a shrill creak. “You certainly know a good investment when you see it, Filthy.” He then picked up the cigar and a lighter, relighting it with the skill and precision only a practiced earth pony could accomplish. He took a puff of it and let it out, smoke hovering around him. “And you are not going to have Sparkle Industries let you down.”