//------------------------------// // Science is Bonding // Story: Daienu // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// "Pass me the green vial, Yaazi." "Right!" Yaazi said happily, levitating the green vial over to her father. Grinning, Twow poured the contents of the vial into a sequence of glass tubing and bulbous basins, suspended over Bunsen burners that sent both liquid and vapors through further tubes to create a mixed concoction towards the end. "Now," he said again, "the red vial." "On it!" Yaazi replied, bouncing over to grab it in her teeth, fluttering her wings to glide over to pour the contents into the designated intake point. Twow smiled as he watched the various substances mix and mingle within the proper vestibules. "And now!" he proclaimed, thrusting his hand into the air with a single finger extended dramatically. "From the purple vial...two drops only!" Yaazi gulped behind her grin, taking hold of the purple vial and floating it over. She carefully measured out the designated dosage, as the two drops of the viscous substance dripped slowly through the air to splash silently into the last container. A cloud of multi-colored smoke erupted from the basin, billowing into the air as the contents bubbled and frothed. A static charged flashed within the smoke, as strange images Yaazi couldn't put names to formed within. The smoke then was suddenly sucked back into the basin before she was blinded by a brilliant flash of light. As the light faded, Yaazi lowered the hoof she had used to shield her eyes as she opened her inner eyelids, eager to see what she and her father had created in this batch of mad science. She was somewhat confused and disappointed to find her father sticking two curly straws into the frothy substance of the basin. "Drink up!" he said happily. He pulled up a chair to sit down in front of it. Yaazi walked up, frowning slightly, and took a sip. She blinked. "It tastes like apples." She took another sip, then pulled back quickly. "Now it tastes like bananas!" She took another sip, then blinked. "Strawberries?" Another sip. "Blackberries?" Another. "Mangoes?" Twow smiled as he took a long drink. "My rainbow-fruit smoothie. Tastes like a sequence of fruit flavors that naturally blend into each other. Good, huh?" Yaazi sighed, and smiled. "Yeah, Dad. It's really...tasty." She leaned in to drink more, enjoying how the flavor harmoniously changed. Twow turned to her. "What's wrong, Yaazi?" Yaazi sighed. "Well, it's just...when you said we'd spend the day in the lab, just the two of us, I was so excited. And then, when you had the whole mad science set up prepared..." She gestured around, pointing out the active tesla coils, the bubbling beakers, the brains in jars (props borrowed from Pinkie Pie's Nightmare Night supplies, for effect), and even the metal slab complete with wrist and ankle straps. "I guess I just thought we'd be making something a bit more exciting than...brunch." Twow smiled indulgently at his daughter. "What? Would you rather we were stitching together dead pony parts to make a science based flesh zombie?" Yaazi lifted up on her wings, her eyes wide and excited. "Can we?" "No." Yaazi dropped back onto the floor, eyes flat as she took another sip of the mixed smoothie. "Well, can we do something a bit more exciting than cooking?" Twow leaned back, staring down at Yaazi, struggling not to collapse from her cumulative cuteness. He'd speculated once about finding someway to harness her cuteness as an energy source - naturally gathered from what she released on a daily basis from just being herself - as an alternative free energy source for Equestria using a widely available resource, or possibly weaponizing it as an alternative to the Elements of Harmony, should all six of the Element Bearers be unavailable against such a threat. However, the first idea he had discarded because he couldn't figure out a way to safely handle the energy in those quantities, and the second had been vetoed by Celestia since she didn't endorse cruel and unusual punishment. As such, the concept had been discarded. Then again, seeing how cute Yaazi could be when she wasn't trying, he could see why it wouldn't be a good idea to weaponize it. "So what would you like to make with science today, Yaazi?" Yaazi shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Something amazing, I guess." Twow smiled. "Well, what do you suggest?" Yaazi blinked. "Umm..." She glanced around at all the vials of chemicals, everything from the harmless and benign to dangerous and highly volatile. "We could...toss everything together and see what happens?" Inside Twow's head, the mad scientist warred with the responsible citizen as the loving parent chose not to take sides. The responsible citizen won out in the end. "Sorry, Yaazi. That could prove to be catastrophic." Yaazi sighed. "We can't play Frankenstein...we can't do crazy chemistry...what fun is mad science when you have to play it safe?" Twow sighed. He knew that feeling. "Hmm..." He glanced around at everything in the lab. And then he smiled. "Liiightbulb..." he found himself saying for no apparent reason. Yaazi looked up. "Daddy?" she asked, intrigued. Twow grinned, the spark of mad science in his eyes. "Yaazi...fetch the laser welder!" Yaazi gasped happily, immediately fetching the tools necessary for the forging of large constructs with heavy metalwork. Meanwhile, Twow walked over and opened the weapon locker. Yaazi came staggering back with all the tools and saw what he was doing, and gasped. "We're going to make weapons, Daddy?" she asked, getting very excited. Twow grinned. "Not exactly, Yaazi. We're going to make you something...special. Get the mobile terminal, as well. We're going to have some heavy programming to do as well." Jumping for joy, Yaazi threw herself into the role of lab assistant, fetching everything her father needed to complete the newest project. ---------------- Fluttershy paced back and forth in front of Twow and Yaazi. "So, Yaazi got bored with the basic chemistry you were doing to make sweet treats?" "Yes," Twow said, wincing back as he held the ice pack to the swelling in his side. Fluttershy turned to Yaazi. "And then you asked to make something more impressive?" Yaazi nodded, clanking as she pawed the somewhat charred earth with a vanadium/destronium/vibranium alloy clad hoof. "Yes Mom." Fluttershy turned back to Twow. "And that somehow turned into you making Yaazi a powered armor suit with enough firepower to level a small city." She gestured out at the smoking craters nearby. "Like Ponyville." "Um, to be fair, that was only a small fraction of what the power armor is actually capable of," Twow pointed out, his scientist's pride asserting itself. "The Limiters were active." "Not helping your case, Dad," Yaazi commented. Fluttershy stared down at both of them. "And you just happened to think it was a good idea to test out some of what it was capable of...in Ponyville?" Twow and Yaazi hung their heads. Their 'harmless fun' had certainly gotten way out of hand. Fluttershy sighed, sitting down next to Yaazi. "I'm not really mad at you, Yaazi. I know how Twow can get carried away with these things, and you just got caught up in it. And I admit, this will certainly ensure that - no matter the situation - you will be perfectly safe." "Dad did say he designed it to grow as I did," Yaazi replied, looking up into her Mom's eyes. Fluttershy nodded. "Alright. In that case, it goes back into the dangerous weapon locker, and you aren't allowed to use it until you're mature enough to handle its power responsibly. And you're grounded until Ponyville is fully repaired." Yaazi nodded, accepting the punishment. She figured it was much kinder than what she actually deserved in this situation. Fluttershy then turned to Twow. "I'll finish discussing this with you, later," she stated emphatically. "For right now, you'd better see to the reconstruction." "I'll get right on it," he said, turning to grab his tools. Fluttershy sighed. "Well, I hope you two had fun today." Twow and Yaazi looked at each other, smiling. "We did!" they said together. Fluttershy gave Twow a rather direct look. "Last I checked, I was only raising one child," she griped exasperatedly. Twow chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Say, Dad?" Yaazi asked, shifting around in the power armor. "Yes, Yaazi?" "How do I take this off?" she asked. "Is it this-" The back of the power armor opened up and fired off a large missile that shot up into the air, impacting heavily against the moon, breaking off a large chunk. All three stared up in shock and a bit of fear. "I didn't mean to!" Yaazi cried out desperately. "I can fix that!" Twow hastened to assure everyone around. Fluttershy sighed heavily, rubbing her temple with her hoof. "Is this why Rarity takes so many spa days?" she asked no one in particular.