//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: A New Age // Story: Steam Tyrant // by duvagr007 //------------------------------// Chapter 1 20 Years after the events of the prologue Cornelius sat over his workbench wondering how he was going to get his newest creation to work properly. He had been working on the thing for weeks now, and he was starting to get frustrated. He looked it over again, this time with a very close eye. He wasn't one to miss things, but it had happened on occasion. As he was looking it over, he noticed that two pipes that were supposed to be connected weren't. He facehoofed then proceeded to correct the error. Like his countless failed attempts, he poured water into the proper container and turned on his contraption. At first nothing happened, but as he watched, pistons and wheels began to turn. His newest machine was working! "Yes! I finally got it working! Oh, that isn't supposed to happen." He looked closely and could see that he had forgotten to actually place an opening at the exhaust port. He was a genius, but he could be such a scatterbrain sometimes. He quickly began to look around his workshop for something to place a hole at the end of the pipe, but before he could find one, it put a hole in itself. A loud band resounded throughout the room and a piece of metal could be seen ricocheting off the walls. It flew right past his head and embedded itself in the wall next to him. He went over to inspect it, not yet registering the pain in his horn. When he finally did however... "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OW SWEET CELESTIA THIS FREAKING HURTS!!!!" The pain in his horn was unfathomable. He had no idea what could have caused it without killing him. He hobbled over to a mirror he had on a nearby wall, and what he saw, or rather, what he didn't see, stunned him. His horn was gone. He had no idea how this could have happened, the metal shouldn't have been strong enough to snap his horn off. At least, he didn't think it was that strong. He decided that he had worked enough today, and turned to leave. As he neared the door and tried to open it with his magic, he realized that no horn meant no magic. "Great. As if things weren't going bad enough. Now I don't have any magic. Ugh, mom's gonna kill me." He stepped outside, struggling to open the door with his hoof. As he walked toward his parents house, he noticed that everypony was staring at him. He knew his horn had a lot to do with it, but it was also because he didn't go out much, so ponies weren't used to seeing him. He didn't have any friends per-say. He hung out with Zach every now and again, but he mostly kept to himself. He was always working on a new build, or coming up with ideas for one. He had a sketch of his biggest goal. He wanted to build a ship, but one that flew with the use of an elongated balloon. It would be like a blimp, but larger and able to carry 5 or 6 ponies and rations/supplies for a month. He didn't have a name for what it was, and up until recently, he didn't have a power source for the propellers that moved it forward. The machine he had been working was the... great, now I need a name for that thing... well it ran on steam. He pondered for a moment, trying to incorporate the word 'steam' into his creations name. I know! I'll call it a steam engine. It's got a nice ring to it. Satisfied with his new creations name, he continued to the library in mental silence. Knock. Knock. Knock "Inkwell, could you get that please? I'm busy." Called Twilight from the back. Inkwell sighed and stood, setting down his quill. He walked toward the door and opened it with his magic to see his son standing there, but something was different about him. "Hey son, how have you- SWEET CELESTIA WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HORN!?!?!?!?!?" _____ "YOU WHAT!? Conelius, sweetie, how could you disregard caution like that? You know your work is dangerous, you should know to be careful. Now look what happened, you lost your horn and your magic with it." "Mom, stop. I'm fine, I just had an accident is all. I know I won't have magic anymore, but think about what I just contributed to Equestria. This will move us forward like nothing else has before. With my new steam engine, we can move forward into... hmm. Oh, I've got it! The Steampunk Era! How do you like it?" "I would like it more if you had your horn young man. And another thing-" "Twilight, stop. He made his mistake, and he'll suffer the consequences for it. He doesn't need you lecturing him about it. Okay?" "I... okay. But you better have learned your lesson young man." "I know Ma. I'll be more careful. I'm sure I can still make excellent machines, with or without my horn. And they will all go toward benefiting..." he trailed off. An idea had popped into his head. One that might just earn him his magic back. "Benefiting?" "Mom, Dad. It's been wonderful catching up with you guys, but I gotta go." "Wait, Cornelius. What are you," but he was already out the door. "why does he never listen to me?" "He gets it from his mother. Ow! That hurt." "It wasn't supposed to feel good." "Ha ha. Very funny." "I know. And I love you." "Love you too Twi." _____ Cornelius burst into his workshop, startling the now awake Owloicious into falling off of his perch. He moved to his workbench and picked up a piece if paper and one of his pencils and began to sketch out blueprints. He knew what he wanted to do, he just didn't know how to go about doing it. He sat for hours drawing out plan after failed plan. He was about to begin another sketch when a knock could be heard from his door. "Who is it?" ... "Alright, come on in Zach." The door opened and Zach, the only pony Cornelius ever talked to walked in. He was slim, tall, and the second best flier in Equestria. Cornelius wasn't sure how somepony so small could be so strong. Zach gave a small nod in greeting and Cornelius nodded back. He turned back to his paper and began to draw again. After a few minutes, he had a look that he liked, and one he could pull off without too much difficulty. "Hey, um, what the heck is this thing?" "That's just my new steam... did you just talk?" "Yes, I know how. I just... prefer not to." "Right. Well anyways, that's my new steam engine. Just finished it this morning. I lost my horn in the process, but its going to move Equestria very far forward. It's also going to power my mind's creation hanging on the wall there." "What is it supposed to be exactly?" "I haven't come up with a name for the actual machine yet. But its name is 'The Falcon'. How do ya like it?" "Well, the name is good. But as for the name of the actual machine, why not call it an airship? It's a ship that flies in the air. At least, that's what I assume the big balloon on top is for." "Huh, simple and creative at the same time. I knew there was a reason I hung out with you. Hey, you wanna help me build it?" "Well, I don't have anything better to do today. How long is it going to take?" "About a month with you and a few other people I rounded up helping. So, you in?" "A month? Meh, might as well. Who else is helping out?" "Just a few ponies my mom recommended. She usually knows who can be of use around town." _____ "You didn't. Please tell me you didn't" "What? What's wrong with them?" "Your mom obviously never told you the Cutie Mark Crusader stories. These three almost always make a mess of things. They have good intentions but, it never really works out for them." "Well, if they have good intentions then that's good enough for me. Besides, we aren't going to be doing anything for a week of so. I need to bring everybody up to speed on what we're doing, and there is one more we're waiting on." "And this one more is?" "I can't remember his name. Chipspeak or something like that." "Pipsqueak?" "That's the one." "Well, I've never heard anything bad about him but still. I don't like where this is going. And, what the heck is that thing on your head supposed to do again?" "It lets me use my magic again. Since my real horn broke off, I made this replacement one instead. It hasn't exactly been field tested, but I have faith in my abilities." Zach scooted to the right some. "I'm glad you do, because I sure don't. It was your 'abilities' that lost you your horn in the first place." "Sheesh, you sound like my mother." "Hey guys, hows it goin'?" "Hey Scoot, where's Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell? Shouldn't they be here by now?" "We're comin', hold yer horses." "So what exactly are we doing? I know we're building something, but what?" "All in good time Sweets. Come on in and I'll show you." "Hey, what in tarnation is that thing on yer head? An' what happened to yer real horn?" "Lost it. This is a replacement." "Right." "Just get in here. You comin' Zach?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry I was just um..." "Staring at me," supplied Scootaloo. "No, well... maybe." "It's okay Zach, I know I'm irresistible." "Ignore her. Fifteen years living with Rainbow Dash will do that to a mare. Besides, everpony knows I'm the most beautiful mare in... sorry, that's what happens when you're Rarity's sister." "You two Ah swear. So ta repeat Sweetie's question, what are we... uh, Cornelius? What the hay is that?" "It's a steam engine. It's going to be used to power the propellers for this." He pointed at a scale model of 'The Falcon' he had built after he had finished with his prosthetic horn. I wonder if... well, it's now or never. He picked up the model with his magic. Ha! It works! It actually works! Wait, no. Nononononononono! He tried to regain control of his magic but it was no use. The model went flying through the air and crashed into a nearby wall. "Well, that was a very informative first test." "Informative? Ya almost took mah head off!" "Sorry about that. But it's informative because I now know not only does it give me back the ability to cast magic, it amplifies it as well." "Right, sooo, you gonna show us what you're building or what?" "Not what I'm building. What we're building. All of you are going to help. And in turn, you can be part of the crew if you so choose." "Crew? So we're building a ship?" "Not just a ship Ms. Bell. An airship." _____ It had been about a week since construction on 'The Falcon' had begun. Most of the hull was finished, and the interior walls were in place as well. A few more planks and the furnishings were all that was left and then they could attach the gasbag that Sweetie had been sewing. Even if she wasn't good at sewing, she was better than the rest of them so that was the task she had been charged with. Apple Bloom had been put in charge of the mechanics of the ship, and Scootaloo had decided to go her own and build a small plane-like craft to fit inside. Pipsqueak, who had arrived a few days prior, was given a tour and put to work helping out wherever he was needed. Zach put in the things that required wings and Cornelius oversaw the entire operation. He had also been working on a few side projects here and there. He had heard rumors of a plot to overthrow Celestia and Luna, so he figured a few weapons wouldn't hurt, just in case things got dodgy. Zach had taken a liking to a pair of hoof-canons that Cornelius had built, and he never missed whatever he was aiming at. After one particularly good shot, he got his cutie mark, a pair of crossed guns with a crosshair in the background. Scoots had finished her plane completely and took it up for a spin. When she got back down she saw she had earned her cutie mark as well, a pair of mechanized wings with an 'ace' symbol in the middle. Apple Bloom got her cutie mark when she finished attaching the engine to the propellers, it was a wrench and screwdriver crossed over one another. Cornelius had gotten his mark when he created a gun that could be mounted on the side of the ship. It was a large set of gears and cogs with a belt in the shape of an upside-down triangle stretched over the bottom portion. Sweetie hadn't earned her cutie mark yet, and neither had Pipsqueak. Throughout the entire construction, they were watched by one of Blueblood's spies. Blueblood had heard of their construction and decided that these new 'airships' would be of value in taking control of Equestria. He had ordered dozens of them constructed. All of them bigger and more heavily armed than 'The Falcon'. It was only a matter of time before he was ready to take the princesses. He wasn't sure what he would do with them once they were captured, probably just give them to the griffon kingdoms as a peace offering. "Prince Blueblood sir. The stallion known as 'Cornelius' has completed his ship. He has given a display to the ponies of Ponyville, and given blueprints to the mayor of Cloudsdale. They have already begun production of what are being referred to as 'Vindicator' class ships. They are smaller than our own, but Cloudsdale has more resources and ponypower. Their numbers will greatly trump our own. What should we do?" "Well do they know of my plan?" "No sir." "Then we attack their production facilities before their ships can be completed. Then we will overthrow the princesses as planed." "Sir, they have already completed twenty-seven ships. To attack with our current force would be suicide. They may not be prepared for an attack, but their ships are armed. We would only be able to down roughly ten before we were defeated ourselves." "Then boost production. I want every able bodied pony on our side working on our 'Interdiction' class ships. I want them finished yesterday!" "Yes sir!" Author's Note: If things seem a little slow paced right now, don't worry. It should start to pick up in chapter two or three. Also if you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out. Comment with your thoughts and feelings about how it's playing out. And until such time as I die, I will continue to write this story. Until my note in chapter three, seeya. P.S. If you have something to ask me, send me a pm. Or use the comments, I read them all so I will see it. Your choice.