“I really should have seen this coming.” I sat on a grassy hill, staring at The Gilgamesh as she sat on a larger hill, smoking, and laying on her side slightly. While the engine worked fine at first, as soon as we started seeing signs of civilization off in the distance it gave out and stopped fueling the rotary system. That lead to the entire ship plummeting into the ground and crashing. The impact ended up causing the ship to be damaged along the sides, the engine to rupture from what Ed told me about the readings, and for some minor fire damage on the interior. “I mean really. I can’t believe that I managed to overlook the fact that rather blatant damage must have happened over the past 1500 years.”
I chuckled a little to myself and felt a smile grow upon my face. “I guess I still can get a little overexcited about the old girl now, can’t I?”
A moment later, Ed came out from the ship’s cargo bay and was holding onto several bags of building equipment and was pushing The Psycho, one of my smaller modes of transportation, out of the wreckage. “I was able to salvage most of it Captain, but we’ll definitely need to fix the main and sub engines if she’s going to fly again. We’ll need to fix the other vehicles that were on board as well. As for equipment the Grappling hooks are fine, and so are some of The Insidious and The Eagles. As for ammo, some of the incendiary rounds were what caused most of the fires, and a few concussive and corrosive rounds went off as well.”
Steve pointed at the ship and had a slightly panicked look in his eyes. “But what about my kitchen!? What happened to my station of solitude!?”
Ed shrugged. “Don’t know. Didn’t check it. But judging by where it’s located on the ship, it should be fine.” Steve let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Even though they don’t even have any lungs, they all still sigh, gasp, and sometimes Steve makes this garbled strangled noise when he’s overly frustrated. It baffles me, but I decided it’s a nice touch to their behavior. Makes them seem more like a real, flesh and blood person.
Boris and Victoria were sitting off to my right playing tic tac toe in the dirt. Boris was glaring down at the small patch they had cleared for their game, while Victoria was sitting calmly and holding a stick. Victoria put down an “O” and handed the stick over to Boris who quickly put down an “X” below it, blocking a win. “HA! Beat that!”
Victoria put an “O” in the center and dragged the stick diagonally across the grid. “I win.” Boris looked at the grid in disbelief before throwing his arms up in the air and shouting. Victoria rolled her eyes and looked at him. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s only Tic Tac Toe.”
I let them squabble for a little as I addressed Ed again. “What’s the status of the engines? I’ll need to know how bad it is before I can make repairs.”
Ed grimaced as he pointed over to the ship. “I think you should see for yourself Captain. She’s in a right sorry state.” I got up and nodded.
Before I left though, I shouted over at Boris and Victoria. “Boris, quit pulling your sister’s hair. Victoria, quit antagonizing him into doing it.”
The two of them stopped their impromptu wrestling match before sighing and letting each other go. “Yes dad...” I smiled at them with a small nod of approval, then began to make my way into the ship.
I moved through the Cargo bay and I could see what Ed said about the ammo was true. A whole crate of the ruby bullets I had developed to hold draconic magics had been destroyed and there were scorch marks all around it’s former resting place. The box of Emerald bullets had been burst open as well, and the puddle of acid on the ground had eaten away at the floor a good two inches deep before it finished it’s reaction. “Okay, list. Lumber, Rubies, Emeralds, some Dragon Fire, Brass poles, Copper wire,” I paused and looked over at the other vehicles. Some had deteriorated from time, while the rest were broken from the impact, “add some Iron and find some carbon until I can get the forge working again, as well as some form of ignition source."
I walked past all the damage and opened a door that lead further into the ship. It was a little hard getting down the slanted hallway, but I eventually managed to get to my work station and headed inside. The workshop was a mess as well, mainly because all of the small parts that lined the shelves had fallen down. I ignored this for the moment and opened a small hatch in the floor before I began going down the ladder that it revealed. The corridor I entered at the bottom of the ladder was fairly dark, and was lit with a light blue glow. I frowned and quickly made my way to the engine to see how it was doing, before I stopped dead at what I saw.
The crystalline engine I had developed had certainly done a number on itself over the past 1500 years. It was originally designed to utilize the crystallized magic of the natives to create energy, as the amount produced by a crystal had been measured to grow exponentially by it’s size during my experimentation with them. The only problem is with the increase in power there also was the decrease in stability. If a gem that was larger and had more power was left unused, it would expand and crystalize the surrounding magic that was in the air due to it’s own instability forcing it to do so. The process never got faster or slower, but it was constant and still there none-the-less.
In the engine room there was one main reactor in the center, that fueled the main rotors, and several other smaller reactors that ran all other major and minor functions of the ship. Namely decreasing its overall weight to allow flight through Pegasus magic, and the auxiliary rotors that were used to turn and move. Over that 1500 year timeframe, however, the solitary forty cubic foot blue crystal that was inside the main reactor had expanded greatly and the pure crystallized Unicorn magic had punctured through the main hull in several places. The smaller reactors weren’t much better, but only a third of them had suffered the main reactor’s fate. The rest were either on the brink of salvageable, or perfectly fine with the crystals having gone out from depleting the magic stored before decomposing into silicon dust.
I sighed and broke a piece of crystal from the main reactor. I turned it over in my hands, feeling the warm magic inside slowly start fading. “Well, looks like I’ll have to rebuild you completely.” I took off my hat and sighed as my messy brown hair shifted through my fingers. “This is going to take a while.” I dropped the crystal and it shattered into dust when it hit the ground.
I donned my hat again and walked back out of the ship. I walked over to Steve and Ed, who were sitting next to a fire setting up a skillet so that Steve could have something to do. It’s probably for the best as well, considering I haven’t eaten anything besides a loaf of bread all day. “There you go Steve. Now you have something to work with when lunch pulls around.”
Steve gave Ed a thumbs up and started heading for the ship. “Thanks Ed. Now I’m going to head inside and see what still is edible. Can’t have Invention getting sick on us.”
I cleared my throat and got their attention as I sat down next to Steve. “While that’s all fine and dandy, I actually have something for the both of you to do.” I looked over at Ed and smirked. “Ed, I need you to clear out as much of that crystal in the main reactor as you can using the Crystal Cutters. We can start cleaning the sub reactors after we manage to fix that one and get the ship airborne again. I also want you to salvage and repair as much of the mechanics as you can. You recorded how it was all built so it should be easy for you.”
I turned to Steve and pointed over at Boris and Victoria. “Steve, I need you to keep watch over them and get them some fuel once Ed clears out that crystal. Any extra crystals I want stored securely and safely. We need to make sure they last so that you all will be able to refuel or that they could be used in an emergency.” Steve and Ed both nodded with exaggerated salutes before Steve went over to the kitchens, and Ed ran towards the engine room.
I nodded to myself a little before heading to Boris and Victoria. They’d stopped fighting by now and were back to playing Tic Tac Toe. “Boris, Vicky,” they both turned to face me, “I’ll be headed out for a little bit to get what we need to fix up the ship. If anything bad happens, you are to listen to Steve. If you can’t stay with the ship for any reason, run into town and find me as fast as possible. Got that?”
Boris grinned and stood up. “Sure thing Dad!”
I smiled and poked his nose. “That also means no pranking Steve, Boris.”
Boris let out a disappointed groan and dramatically leaned back to emphasize his displeasure. “Aaaaaawwwwwwwwwww.......”
Victoria was less enthusiastic. “Do you have too?”
My smile saddened a little as I looked at her. “Yes, Vicky, I do. We don’t have the amount of metal needed to fix any of the most important parts at the moment. I’m just going to head into town, and get some raw materials.” I stood back up and walked over to The Psycho. “Now head inside and be good you two. I’ll be back by sunset.”
Boris cheered up immediately and waved at me as he ran into the ship. “Bye Dad!”
Victoria waved as well before she started following Boris. “Be safe!”
I tipped my hat back and smiled goofily. “I’ll see you later kids! And I meant what I said about the pranks Boris!” As soon as they were inside I pulled the Psycho with me down the hill. The wheels were thankfully unlocked, and the frame of the body seemed fine. I checked the engine for a quick moment before I opened the fuel tank. “Well that figures.” It was bone dry. That meant I would have to find some crystallized magic so I could put it through the processing chambers and actually get moving. Or I could use some natural minerals and gems due to everything having some ambient magic in them, though it’d last for a much shorter time.
I looked off to the side and noticed that there was a small alcove in the next hill, and some gems were glistening in the ambient light. “Well, gems it is. I’ll have to remember to come back here later. Save me some money just digging for more gems rather than buying them.” I paused and chuckled. “That is... if I had any money to save.” I slid down the hill and entered the alcove quickly. A few minutes of pulling gems out of the dirt and rock later, and I had a few rubies and quartz along with some sapphires. “This should do for about.... a good two hours of driving.” I took the gems with me back to my bike and lifted the seat to open a different hatch that revealed two grinding wheels that were coated in fine spikes. I quickly put the first of the gems in, and started cranking a small handle that came out the side, groaning as I strained to turn the metal winch. “I should have made this thing bigger... the leverage is needed greatly.”
Even though I had to muscle my way through the first gem for about an hour, it was worth it by the time I was done. once I had ground the first ruby completely, a red paste had traveled into the fuel chamber. It slowly started to let off a red smoke and melted into a crimson liquid after about three seconds of air exposure. This was something that was unique to the gems that resided in Equestria. If they were eaten or crushed into a form of paste with the use of a small amount of liquid and a grinder, they liquidated into a highly combustible and flammable substance. Perfect for not only fueling a Dragon’s fiery breath, but also a standard combustion engine as a substitute for gasoline. Less fuel emissions than fossil fuels as well! Though for some strange reason when the gems were ground enough to be a fine dust, the liquidation didn’t occur when a liquid was added and the dust could still hold magic to a very minor degree.
I flipped the cover to the engine closed, and switched on the ignition. The engine roared to life and I started putting the rest of the gems into the now automated grinder. While I normally avoided mixed fuel, this would have to be an exception. “This is going to be hell on the engine, but I can fix up the damage this is going to cause after I get one of the other bikes into working order. She’ll still run for a little while.”
As soon as the last crystal was finished, I closed the grinding hatch and lowered the seat back over it. I hopped onto the bike and started heading for the small village I had seen before we crashed. “Let’s hope that the posters haven’t been broken out yet.”
(Train to Ponyville)
The six passengers onboard the train car were silent as they sat next to each other. They were either glancing occasionally at anything in the room, or staring off into space in thought. Only one passenger broke this stigma, as she desperately tried to stay awake. “Pinkie.”
The pink pony looked at Rainbow and smiled. “Yeah Dashie?”
Rainbow was slowly leaning forward before she bolted up and slapped herself in the face. “Keep talking. I need your help staying awake.” The pink pony beamed a little before stopping and tapping her chin in thought of what to talk about. Rainbow groaned and looked over at Twilight, who was muttering to herself. “Twilight, are you sure that I can’t have anything to help me wake up? This sucks worse than when I broke my wing.”
Twilight jolted a little out of her thoughts and looked over at Rainbow. “Huh wha? Oh, sorry Rainbow, but it wouldn’t help anyways. Whatever you breathed in was laced with Sleeping magic, and it forces any who are affected to become drowsy by sapping away at their mental energy. But like I said, it will wear off eventually though.” Rainbow groaned before faceplanting into the table and caused every pony to stare at her for a moment. They all sighed as a soft snore came from the pegasus.
Pinkie crossed her hooves and pouted. “Drat. I was just about to say something too.”
Rarity took this as a moment to put her thoughts out. “Girls, I’m sure you’ll all agree, but I don’t know what to think about what happened today.”
Applejack nodded in agreement. “Me neither Rarity. First we hear from Princess Celestia that this Invention feller is a dangerous criminal, then Princess Luna tells us all about how he was a thief. Next thing we know we’re in a chariot, next to an airship that accordin’ ta Twilight shouldn’t have been able to fly at all, with the same feller taking out the guards like it was nothing and he just let us all leave when he was done. Plum don’t make any sense.”
Fluttershy hid a little behind her mane. “Well.... he did ask politely for them to leave... I don’t think he wanted to fight. He even said so when he gave back Rainbow.”
Twilight shivered slightly as she remembered the strange sensation of her magic coming into contact with the inventor. “Fluttershy has a point, but I still don’t get it.” She looked out the window, watching the scenery fly by. “Just how was he able to make all of that and how did it all even work?”
Applejack tipped her hat back as she looked at the lavender unicorn. “That’s another thing. Just how wasn’t it possible Twilight? Ah mean here we are in a train homeward bound, and it don’t run on no magic. It’s got a good old steam engine pullin’ us along right now.”
Rarity nodded. “I have to agree with Applejack dear. It does fall into the realm of possibility.”
Pinkie nodded rapidly before she wore a confused smile and looked at Twilight as well. “Yeah, I mean, you did react a little over dramatically when you saw it Twilight. You were all like, GASP! IT FLIES!”
Twilight shook her head and sighed before turning back to the others. “My reactions aside, Pinkie. While it is possible to make a ship that runs on steam like these trains do, the coal required to heat up the water would have caused the ship to flood with Carbon Monoxide if not vented properly and it would weigh the ship down immensely. There wasn’t a single vent on the ship’s body, nor did any steam rise out. It didn’t even have any trouble ascending like most steam powered ships do, and it was larger than the biggest one ever made by pony hooves. The only other way to fuel a ship like that without causing any emissions or weight gain would be through some form of magic.”
Applejack scratched her head. “Ah thought the Princesses said that there was no magic in ‘im? How’d he do all that fancy fightin’ then?”
Twilight shuddered and looked back at the table again. “I could tell when he touched my magical field when we got Rainbow back, that there wasn’t an ounce of magic in him. It was as if he was a void in the ambient magic of the world.” She looked up at the others and showed her fear to them. “What terrifies me though, is that I have absolutely no idea how he managed to do what he did. He has no magic, yet he was able to not only put a sleep spell on Rainbow, but did the same to half the guard and froze the rest with only minor frostburn being the most severe result. What he was doing, defied almost all the laws of magic.”
Pinkie tapped her chin and suddenly started to beam. “What if he was using something like my party cannon?”
Everyone paused to look at the pink mare. “Huh?”
Pinkie grinned as she pulled her cannon out of her tail. “My Party Cannon! What if he was launching the spells out of that cool looking sword of his after collecting all the magic from the guards then sent it out like how I launch awesome parties from my Party Cannon? He was all going all, Swish slash pow the whole time so why not!?” The pink mare beamed as she finished her idea and awaited her friends responses.
Rarity looked at her friend wearily. “Darling, I’m not sure that’s what was occurring on that ship. When he put all those guards to sleep I could have sworn I saw gems being launched. Not magic spells. The doctors that looked over Rainbow and the guards said that there were traces of Lapis dust of all things in her nose.”
Twilight stopped pondering for a moment and looked up. “Gems...” She looked at nothing as her eyes darted back and forth. “Gems are possible to be used as mediums... what if he put the spells in the gems?... no, that would require the help of a unicorn who knew the spell... or would it?...” Twilight let out a frustrated groan and planted her hooves on her head. “AHH! There are just too many unanswered questions!”
Rainbow groaned from the table. “Stop talking so much... Too tired... I was having a nice dream of popping that Invention guy in the face for... gassing me...” Her snores returned and she rolled to the side slightly, leaning onto Applejack.
Fluttershy mumbled a little. “Um... besides all of the uh, scary things he did... I kinda think that he looked.... different.” She hid behind her mane some more. “Not that I mean anything by it, I just thought humans would look different.”
Applejack tapped her chin. “Well.... Ah’d say he was about as tall as Princess Luna... maybe Princess Celestia if ya took his hat into account.”
Twilight’s horn glowed as she smiled a little. “I got it.” A piece of paper and a quill teleported to her and she started writing. “I’ll write down everything we know about Invention. Then we can see if we can find out just what he did to cause all that we saw.” Twilight started to mumble to herself as she wrote. “Approximately five and a half foot tall... brown hair atop the head... small blue eyes... able to defy magical laws...”
The remaining four ponies sighed as Twilight started to ramble various trivial facts that she had seen before joining Rainbow in the land of dreams.
