//------------------------------//
// Asimov 
// Story: Technicalities 
// by BionicBrony 
//------------------------------//


“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” - Aristotle






        A fresh day.

        A fresh beginning.

        As the sun rose over the horizon, Alex's sniper-like gaze fixed itself to the far south west. Far beyond the sight of any normal set of eyes lay the approaching threat: a swirling cloud of black that was sweeping its way over the land.

        Alex frowned at the sight. If the changelings really wanted to, they could have easily flown over to Ponyville in an hour, hour and a half—tops. Instead, they seemed to be swarming around something that was moving much slower. At the rate they were going, it would take them almost three times that. Not the Alex was complaining; it gave the Liandri an opportunity to finalize the shield dome, but only just.

        However, the question remained: what was so important, big, or just plain slow that they felt the need to keep pace with it instead of flying ahead? Was it Chrysalis herself? No; she had her own wings. So what else could it be…?

        The sensors on Alex’s armor alerted him of the new arrival before the sound of her wingbeats did. Alex didn’t bother moving as Rainbow Dash slowed and landed near him, her hooves causing clear metallic taps as she landed on top of the Raven that he was standing on, which itself hovered in place five kilometers above Ponyville.

        “Well you look different,” said Rainbow as she laid down next to Alex peering over the Raven’s tail towards the distance.

        “Nice to see you too, Dash,” he responded.

        Rainbow Dash shot up and twisted her head at the familiar voice. “Whoa, wait, Alex? Is that you?”

        He turned his helmeted head over towards her. “What, were you expecting something else?”

        “No no, it’s just…” She scratched her head. “I thought you were another Liandri, is all.”

        Alex’s brow raised behind his visor. “You’re in the habit of chatting up my bots?”

        “She is,” came Rose’s unsolicited voice in Alex’s ear.

        Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. “N-No! No I’m not!”

        “Rose tells me a different story.” 

Dash jerked her head around to obscure her face from Alex, who simply shrugged and looked away again. “Look, I don’t care whether you talk to them or not. Just not sure what kind of conversation you expect to get out of a VI.”

        “I don’t think you want to know…” answered Rose, giving Alex’s cheek an unpleasant twitch.

        “J-just forget about it,” Rainbow Dash stuttered.

        “Right…” After a pause, Alex asked, “So what are you doing up here, anyway?”

        Rainbow brought her head back and let out a quick breath before answering. “I just saw this thing floating around up here and thought I’d come see what it was doing. What are you doing up here?”

        Alex brought up his arm and pointed towards the horizon. “I’m looking at that.”

        As a pegasus, Dash's eyesight was better than most. Despite this, however, even she couldn't see far enough to know for certain what Alex was pointing to. "And just what exactly is 'that?' "

        "The changelings," Alex answered as he lowered his arm. "A lot of them. Way more than what we saw in Canterlot. Recon suggests that they'll be here in a few hours."

        For the moment, Rainbow Dash remained silent, and her eyes unfocused as they remained locked on the horizon. Eventually, she muttered, "So it's true, isn't it? Twilight wasn't kidding when she said they attacked Appleloosa and that they were on their way here, was she?"

        "No. She wasn't," Alex confirmed with a shake of his head. "We've dispatched some high altitude Raptors to act as surveillance drones, and we've been keeping an eye on them since yesterday. Compared to the numbers they're pulling now, Canterlot was a joke. Not only that, but they seem to be swarming around something. We can't tell what, but whatever it is, it's slow, and probably big."

        Dash looked up at him. "And you're gonna help defend Ponyville, right?"

        A sharp laugh punctuated a smirk crawling across his hidden face. "You're goddamn right."

        Dash echoed the laugh. "Just make sure you leave some for the rest of us!"

        Alex's smirk vanished, and his head angled back towards her. "I don't want you fighting, Dash."

        "Wait, what?" Rainbow's own smile disappeared as she backed away from Alex to gawk at him. "What, you think you're just going to take all the action for yourself? Don't count on it, buster!"

        Alex turned his body completely towards her. "Dash, this whole situation is a shit storm. The Liandri can handle the changelings on their own—that won't be a problem. But what we are worried about is crowd control and collateral damage. The last thing we need is ponies panicking and getting in the way. They're more likely to get themselves hurt that way." His eyes narrowed, though Dash had no way to tell. "And that includes ponies trying to help."

        Dash glared at him. "So what, I'm supposed to just sit back while somepony else defends my home town for me? No thanks."

        Alex shook his head. "I never said that. In fact, I want you to help run crowd control." He pointed a finger over the side of the Raven. "Keep the skies clear, and keep everyone inside the perimeter we set up. In fact, try to keep them in their homes if you can. We're going to send units around to collect blood samples from everyone, so we need them to be organized."

        "Blood samples?" Rainbow's face contorted into a mixture of both confusion and mild disgust. "What do you need ponies' blood for?"

        "Changeling detection tests," Alex answered within a heartbeat. "We've put together handheld analyzers that we can use to confirm ponies' identities. A changeling's blood is very different from your own, believe me. You can tell just by looking at it. Although we've even taken the extra step of including genetic ID, just to be on the safe side. It only takes a small prick and a few seconds to confirm you are who you say you are and not just who you claim to be. Right now, what's important is that we have a library of base samples to make these IDs."

        Dash continued to cringe at the idea. "Still doesn't sound like a good way to do it..."

        Alex flapped his arms against his side. "Well, it's either that, or we plant an RFID chip under your skin. That would be more convenient, but it's not exactly a comfortable thought, now is it?"

        Rainbow Dash shivered. "I don't even know what an RF-whatever-it-was is, but I definitely don't want it under my skin."

        "Exactly. Oh, and one more thing..." He pointed off towards the horizon again. "Take a look over there again. Tell me, does something look... off to you?"

        Rainbow Dash followed his finger again and squinted her eyes. For a moment, she remained silent, though eventually said, "Everything looks fine from over here... What exactly are you—OW!" Dash leapt back from Alex as a sharp pain suddenly assaulted her shoulder. "What the hay was that for?!" she growled as she rubbed her shoulder. The sharp pain had been brief, but it left her shoulder sore.

        While Dash was busy glowering at him, Alex stared down at the miniature screen on a device clasped in his hand that wasn't there a moment ago. It had the handle of a gun, but was much too wide and bulky. Where the barrel should have been was instead small, shallow tube with a needle in it, one that quickly retreated back into the device. "Just getting your blood sample while I have you here. I gave you a lot of important information without making sure you weren't a changeling." He returned his eyes towards her and held the device up. "Since your genome is reading as a Pony, I don't have to worry about that anymore. See? Quick and painless."

        Dash narrowed her eyes with her hoof still on her shoulder. "I think you still have to work on that painless part."

        "Meh," Alex shrugged. "Mostly painless."

        A sudden beep in Alex's ear drew his attention, alerting him that there was an urgent matter to attend to. He held a finger up to the pegasus. "One sec, Dash, something's come up." He looked away from her and spoke again, though this time, his armor didn't project his voice outward for his physical company to hear. "What's up, Rose?"

        "It seems our favorite captain has decided to pay us a visit," Rose's voice responded. "He's even brought a contingent of guards with him. Now he's asking to speak to you personally, and he's being particularly annoying about it."

        "How many guards are we talking here?"

        "I count two hundred and ninety three. If he intends to protect Ponyville with that many guards, he's either completely delusional or horribly misinformed. It's also worth mentioning that he has also attempted to erect his own shield dome."

        "You did stop him, right?" Alex asked as he walked to the edge of the Raven to peer downwards. Thankfully, there was no dome over the town.

        "I did," Rose confirmed. "It wasn't exactly easy, though. I explained to him that our dome wouldn't be able to form if his was in place, but he was insistent on doing it anyway. In the end, I had to threaten him to get him to stop."

        Alex sighed as he brought up a hand to rub against his head, though with the helmet in the way, it wasn't quite the same. While having to threaten Shining Armor definitely wouldn't help relations, it was the right call. If the Liandri shield worked—and it would—it would provide perfect cover for as long as it was necessary. Shining Armor's shield, while quick and convenient, would definitely not be able to survive the day.

        "You did the right thing, Rose," Alex finally responded. "What about his guards? What are they doing?"

        "The ones that aren't already with Shining Armor are actually being helpful. Currently, they're establishing a presence and helping to keep the public calm. They're doing a much better job of it than the Novas and Commandos are, really, so I reassigned our active units to the perimeter."

        Alex nodded. "Yeah, that doesn't really surprise me. The Royal Guards are a familiar and established authority figure, after all. Where's Shining Armor right now?"

        "In front of the facility's primary entrance. I'm currently keeping him occupied with a Commando, and I've even invited Twilight to help talk some sense into him, but I'm afraid he'll try to do something stupid if he doesn't talk with you."

        Alex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I understand. Tell him I'll be there in a minute. I'm gonna take the express route." He turned back to Rainbow Dash and projected his voice outwards once more. "Hey, sorry about that, Dash. Your shoulder feel better yet?"

        She raised the respective foreleg and flexed it around. "It's still a little sore, but mostly, yeah."

        "Good to hear," he said with a nod. "Oh, and sorry, but I gotta ditch ya. Twilight's brother just showed up with a bunch of guards, and he's being all high and mighty right now, so I gotta go deal with it. Can I count on you to help everyone keep a level head today?"

        Dash smirked and raised up a hoof in salute. "Hey, don't worry. You can count on me."

        He gave her two thumbs up. "Good shit. Now I just need one more favor from you."

        She blinked several times as she cautiously lowered her hoof. "And what's that...?"

        Alex smirked behind his visor. "Try not to freak out right now."

        With those words, Alex spread his arms out, leaned back, and pitched over the side of the aircraft.





        "Alex is on his way," said Rose. Currently piloting her equine body, she was flanked by a pair of visibly armed Novas. A Liandri Commando stood off to the side, its imposing figure towering over all those present in front of the garage.

        Shining Armor nodded to her, though kept his face stern. A dozen guards stood next to and behind him, and each one kept a firm eye on the few Liandri present. "How long until he gets here?" the captain asked.

        "He'll be arriving shortly," was Rose's answer.

        Shining kept his glare. "He better. If you're lying to me, we're going to have a problem."

        Twilight, who had been standing between the two, turned to her brother with as pained a look as she could muster—a genuine one, if the clench in her chest were any indication. "Shiny, please, can you at least try to work with them?"

        He shook his head. "Only if they agree to work with us."

        Suddenly, one of the guards called out with a hoof pointed skyward. "Captain, look! Up there!"

        All eyes were instantly drawn skyward as an object careened downward. Whatever it was, it shined like a bright green comet, leaving an electric tail in its wake. It was only when the pseudo-meteorite drew closer in the next second that any of them were able to tell that it was humanoid in shape, and that its head pointed downward, but by that point it didn't matter, since the next moment would reveal that anyway.

        Nearly an instant before hitting the ground, the figure curled its body, and flipped its legs downward with its arms pointed up. Its feet landed first, and its legs bent to absorb the impact. Its right arm followed next, its fist slamming into the ground at blurring speeds that should have destroyed it. Instead, the green aura surrounding it exploded outward in a swirling cloud of light, while green lightning arced directly upwards in its own thunderous display of power. A rush of wind accompanied the cloud of green light, and blasted past the Liandri and Royal Guards—even knocking one of their helmets off.

        When the visual effects were dispelled, all that remained was a green armored, humanoid figure, kneeling on one leg with its fist planted against the ground. When Alex raised himself to his full height, a hiss escaped from his helmet as the visor's light disappeared, and invisible seams separated as the headpiece folded itself open to reveal his hairless visage; his faintly glowing eyes devoid of any and all amusement.

        "So, it looks like you've finally decided to get up off your ass, eh, Shining Armor?" Alex chided as he sauntered past the Liandri, who each chorused "Greetings, Commander" while bringing an arm up in salute. "Here I was, thinking you'd make life easier for us all and just stay in your fucking kennel."

        While Alex was acting as if nothing even remotely notable had just occurred, all the nearby ponies were still busy attempting to understand what they had just witnessed; namely, an armored human smashing into the ground at such a high speed, yet coming out of it completely unscathed. Shining Armor was no exception, though his second immediate thought was to take note of just how different Alex looked since the day before. If that armor allowed him to survive a fall like that, then there was no telling what else it was capable of.

Shining Armor shook his head of the thought and snorted. Alex did say something to him, after all. "A dog joke? Last time I heard one like that, I was arresting a narcotics trafficker."

        "A shame I'm not him,” Alex quipped back. “What are you doing here?"

        Shining levitated a scroll out from a pouch on his flank's armor and unrolled it, bringing it close enough for Alex to read at a distance. "By the authority of the Celestial Princesses, the Royal Guard are to be stationed here in Ponyville and to assume leadership of the town's defenses due to the impending changeling attack. That also includes issuing you a cease and desist order."

        Alex stared at the wall of text before him for all of two seconds before he muttered, "I see..." and his eyes flashed green. Without warning, one of the Reds standing next to Rose aimed its Link Gun from the hip and fired a single bolt of plasma, which caught and incinerated Shining Armor's letter before he could react. Twilight let out a sharp gasp, while most of the guards fidgeted amongst each other—many taking an alarmed step forward. Alex didn't so much as blink.

        "That's a nice sentiment, Shining," he continued, "but if you'll recall, I announced yesterday that until further notice, Ponyville is under my jurisdiction; That is to say, that of the Liandri Mechanized Corps."

        Shining Armor's muscles clenched in an attempt to keep his growing frustration under control. "Right now, you will address me as Captain Shining Armor. And civilians aren't allowed to make any sort of decision like that."

        Alex narrowed his eyes. "As long as we’re exchanging formalities, then you will address me as Commander Laythem. And I'm not much of a civilian, now am I? Here's a lesson in authority, Captain..." Twilight's eyes twitched as she spotted a faint light appear from Alex's lower back. When his right hand reached behind himself, her heart nearly leapt into her throat. "It's only yours when you have the power to enforce it."

        "NO!" The human's use of the word enforce caused Twilight's mouth and legs to leap into action, long before her brain realized what it was doing, and just as Alex swung his arm back towards her brother.

        Time almost seemed to stand still, despite flowing normally for each of them. Twilight stood in front of her bewildered brother, staring up at Alex with wide, tearful eyes. He simply stared back, his frown deep enough that it was one display of teeth short of a scowl. Held in his cybernetic grip was not an Enforcer, as Twilight had feared, but a Shock Rifle; a non-lethal weapon, but according to Alex, still exceptionally painful.

        The guards standing behind Shining Armor took a step in advance at the sudden commotion, and many drew their spears, but quickly stopped as they stared at the scene, completely unsure of just how exactly to proceed.

        Thankfully for them all, there was one individual who wasn't quite so easily stunned.

        "Oh would you both just stop acting like overgrown children already?" Rose jeered as she calmly stepped between them. Her voice was firm, and in the silence, commanded all the attention of a sudden bucket of cold water that shocked everyone back to their senses. "I'm not sure if either of you have noticed, but this town is in danger. This is hardly the time for you two to see which one has the most impressive set of genitals.” The two males’ faces instantly paled at her words, though she heedlessly continued. “It’s obvious to me—as it should be to everyone else—that we’ll all achieve the best outcome of this situation by co-operating.”

        “Rose, you know just as well as I do that his guards are just going to interfere with our operations!” Alex objected.

        She swiveled an eye towards him. “No, they won’t.” Rose then turned her head towards Shining Armor. “They won’t, because the Royal Guard are going to be busy keeping the public calm and collected while we deal with the changelings.”

        Shining Armor stepped out from behind his sister and faced the AI’s avatar. “I brought three hundred of my finest guards with me, each one with several years worth of training and experience. We can do both jobs; without your help.”

        “Quit deluding yourself, Leonidas,” Alex snarked as he stowed his gun.

        Rose cocked her head back to glare at him. “Shut up,” she snapped, her words instantly slapping Alex into silence. Satisfied that he was actually taking her advice, Rose turned back to Shining Armor. “You have two hundred and ninety three guards. Not three hundred. I know because I counted them. Our reconnaissance reveals that the changelings are numbering in the thousands, at least. I don’t care how highly you think of your guards, they do not have the capacity to fight them off. We do.”

        “Rose has a point, Shiny,” Twilight added, standing next to the robotic pony in question to face her brother with her. “I fully believe the Liandri can deal with the changelings on their own, but the ponies around here are afraid of them. They don’t trust them—not as much as the Royal Guard.”

        “Which is why we need you and your guards to keep everyone calm and out of harm’s way while we do the dirty work,” Rose finished up, jabbing a hoof into Shining Armor’s chest for emphasis.

        Rose’s words stewed within the captain’s head as he unconsciously glanced down at her hoof, which subsequently planted itself back upon the ground. If the changelings really were numbering in the thousands, then a lot more needed to be done. This wasn’t going to be like Canterlot at all! Every last guard, both on duty and off, needed to be called in! The Princesses needed to provide help, too! But this wasn’t something he could let Cadence get involved in…

        “As much as it pains me to say it, they’re right,” said Alex as he moved towards their huddle, one hand on his hip while the other pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re not exactly the best at PR, but at least we’ve got the firepower. If we really want to make the best of the situation, we both need to work our strengths.”

        Shining Armor interrupted his thoughts and stared up at the human with as blank an expression as any. “How are you going to do it?”

        Alex brought his arm down and blinked at him. “Do what?”

        “Defeat the changelings,” Shining elaborated with just a tinge of impatience.

        The human raised a brow. “With a superior military force. Duh.”

        The captain’s look turned skeptical. This was not the type of language a so-called ‘commander’ would use. “I’m not exactly sure a hoof-ful of machines counts as a ‘superior’ military force.”

        "A hoof-ful of..." Alex mouthed Shining's words before a wicked grin spread across his face. "Oh, you think the bots we have deployed are all there is, don't you? Tell me, Captain: are you familiar with the term 'means of production?' "

        "More or less."

        Alex allowed a chuckle to escape. "Well then, allow me to enlighten you. Rose, I think we should show him The Pits. Help alleviate his concerns a bit."

        Rose shrugged. "I don't see why not."

        Shining Armor shot him a critical look. "The Pits" didn't exactly sound like a friendly place. "Just what exactly are 'The Pits?' "

        Alex kept his smirk as he crossed his arms, though the instinctive action proved more difficult with his body's newfound bulk. "It's just the name we gave to our manufactorium. It's a human term, really. In robotics competitions, the place where engineers work on their bots is called The Pits."

        Twilight's eyes sparkled. "Ooohhh, can I come with you? I've always wanted to see your manufacturing process in action!"

        "Sure, but I'll only be able to bring you two," Alex said with a shrug, eying the other guards behind Shining Armor. "It's not exactly a place for crowds."

        Shining Armor turned to look at his guards, who only stared back in anticipation of his orders. Whatever decision he made was fine with them. Turning back to Alex, the captain nodded his head. "Alright. Lead the way." If anything, this would be a good way to see what the Royal Guard was up against if the Liandri ever decided to turn on Equestria...

        Alex clasped his metallic hands together with a smile. "Excellent! Right this way, o' capitaine." This ought to put him in his place if he decides to get uppity...

        Leaving Rose outside, Twilight and Shining Armor followed Alex into the facility's main entrance and straight away into the central elevator. During its descent, Alex faced the elevator door as he spoke. "A word of caution to you both: The Pits are not an environment meant for organics, be they pony or human. It is dark, it is hot, and it is stuffy. I can guarantee that you will not have a pleasant time while you're down there. Be thankful that at least it isn't humid."

        The two unicorns nodded to themselves, but otherwise refrained from commenting. At one point, Shining Armor looked up through the elevator's glass ceiling and blinked as he attempted to process the absurdly long elevator shaft. "Geez, how far down does this thing go?"

        "Very," was Alex's quick answer. "The Pits compose the facility's lowest levels."

As time stretched on, Shining was about to ask if there were even an end to the ride when the elevator finally slowed to a halt, and Alex's helmet suddenly reformed itself over his head. When the door actually opened, a wave of unrepentant hot air flooded into the elevator, catching both ponies off guard.

        "Whoa!" Twilight exclaimed, spreading out her legs in an attempt to keep the drastic change in temperature from overwhelming her. "You really weren't kidding!"

        Alex shrugged as he moved forward. "Eh. You'll get used to it."

        "Let's just be quick about this," Shining Armor muttered as he followed him. "The sooner we get out of here, the better. And why is it so hot, down here, anyway?"

        "Most of it is excess heat from the refineries. We have some systems in place to reabsorb the energy, but with this entire place running on full throttle, there's only so much they can do. The easiest thing would be to vent it all outside, but I doubt the neighbors would appreciate it."

        The area just beyond the elevator door was unlike any other part of the facility Twilight had ever seen. Where most of it was composed of pristine white halls, labs, and testing rooms, this took on a completely different theme. It wasn't actually as dark as Alex had made it seem, but it certainly wasn't very generous with its illumination. Small, orange lights were scattered along the ground, doing little more than showing where it was possible to walk. Everything else appeared to be a large collection of titanic tubes or cables running vertically, though their true purposes remained completely unknown to her. A cacophony of activity filled her ears, coming from every direction at once and leaving her unable to focus on any one potential source of noise.

        "What is all this...?" Shining Armor asked. It was more to himself than anything else, but he ended up saying it out loud anyway.

        “Most of these are power conduits,” Alex explained as he led the two unicorns down the walkway, pointing at his surroundings as he went. “These ones over here are responsible for sending down power from the facility’s two cores to our EMC array. That one over there helps power the eastern refinery; this one powers the west…”

        The trio continued along the walkway and the twisting tubes gradually gave way to other machinery. Shining Armor paused at an intersection, taking notice of an odd empty space. Out of sheer curiosity, he illuminated his horn to allow for more lighting, revealing an empty track connecting the darkness above and below him. A mere moment later, a silver-colored Liandri emerged from the darkness, being quickly carried up an out of sight again.

        Shining Armor jumped back at the sudden arrival and disappearance of this Liandri as it was carried off who knows where. It was shaped like the machines that were at the wedding and standing outside, but it didn’t look right. Alex paused to look back at the captain, then at what he was looking at. “That’s a unit transport line,” he explained. “That one carries Novas from a quality check on the lower levels to a painting station above us. They go to storage from there.”

        Shining Armor grimaced as he caught up to him. “All of this is just weird…”

        “I think it’s fascinating,” Twilight commented. “To think: all of these various parts and mechanisms… this is all just one, really big machine!”

        “That’s pretty much the long and short of it,” said Alex.

        As they neared the next intersection, something emitting a ghostly blue light suddenly crossed the path in front of them, blurring in and out of sight quickly enough that neither Twilight nor her brother were able to get a good look at it.

        His own instincts kicking in, Shining Armor took an abrupt step back and lit up his horn in reaction. Although by the time he managed to do that, whatever it was that startled him was long gone. “What the hay was that?”

        Alex continued walking without bothering to look back, as if what just happened were the most normal thing in the world. “That was a Seraph. They’re maintenance bots; Rose’s hands if something isn’t working right down here. They’re pretty to look at, but keep in mind they do have a job to do, so just remember to leave them alone.”

        Shining Armor quickly shook his head after processing his words. This entire place had him on edge, and exactly none of it felt even slightly normal. Without a doubt, the sooner he could leave, the better.

        Traveling further into the belly of the beast, the machinery began to look more familiar to Twilight; at least, in the sense that she had seen its like before. On either side of the walkways were arrays of robotic arms, each one hard at work assembling one thing or another. On her left, the machine looked like it was putting together a part of a Nova's leg, while on her right, a forearm was being pieced together by a swarm of movement. When the machine deemed it finished, another arm swooped in, grasped it with calculated speed and precision, and then promptly disappeared with its prize to parts unknown. As soon as it did, another assortment of pieces appeared out of the metalworks and assembly began anew.

        At this point, noise was a constant companion. All around her were whirs, cracks, and sparks from the incessant machining. Everything around her was in constant angry, jittery motion; a sea of absolute chaos to any outside observer. But she knew better than that. Behind the movement, the noise, and all the chaos... was harmony and order. A harmony so perfect, maintaining an order so complex and calculated, that nopony who ever existed could imagine such a thing were even be possible.

        And yet, here it was. Surrounding her on all sides.

        Twilight continued to follow Alex and her brother, though her mind was elsewhere as she did. This entire facility was a system; a system that could be studied and made sense of, even if the task seemed impossible. Each manufacturer (as she had decided to dub them) was seemingly focused on building a specific piece of a Liandri, and it appeared to be the majority case, but it wasn't.

It was difficult to discern at first, because of their constant movement, but each manufacturer had the exact same set of tools available to them, which meant that they were flexible. It made sense, since she had seen more than of them finish building one part of a Liandri's body, but as soon as that component was shipped off, it began work on an obviously different part! Twilight grinned to herself. If that was the case, then it must mean that Rose optimizes the entire system on the go, depending on the availability of manufacturers, Liandri parts, and time constraints! All to build as many of the highest quality Liandri in the shortest timeframe possible!

Twilight giggled to herself at having figured out at least part of how things were run around here, and she even began formulating mental models of how to mathematically represent such a system. Though she quickly frowned as some consequences automatically invaded her thoughts. Her mental model assumed that everything ran perfectly, and no single part of it malfunctioned. If even a single manufacturer malfunctioned or became damaged from wear and tear, the whole system would need to be reorganized!

Problems and complexities started to plague her mind. A whole library of variables needed to be taken into account! The differing manufacturing times of variant parts; the amount of time it takes to transport a part from one machine to another; the physical distance between them... and all that was just the tip of the iceberg...

In that moment, it dawned on her just how impossibly difficult Rose's job was, and how she still managed to do it all anyway. Twilight knew Alex was intelligent, and she definitely wasn't a lightweight either. After all, everypony said so. But Rose...?

She was intelligent on an entirely different level.

"Oof!" Twilight was promptly torn from her thoughts as she bumped into her brother, who had stopped with Alex in front of another manufacturer. "Shoot, sorry. Kinda got lost in thought for a second there."

"Just so long as you don't get physically lost down here," said Alex. "I mean, it wouldn't be much of a problem since Rose could lead you out in a heartbeat, but you know..." He cleared his throat, then gestured to the manufacturer. "Anyway, as you can see, Shining Armor, we take the phrase 'to build an army' just a tad literally down here."

Twilight and her brother focused their attention on the subject of the manufacturer. It appeared to be an entire Nova, although it wasn't intuitively obvious at a glance. But while it was clearly far from complete, that state of affairs was rapidly changing.

It was bizarre, really. Both Twilight and Shining Armor had only ever seen the finished product, and now here they were: witnessing one come into existence. Silvery body parts, circuitry, and other pieces rested along the edges of the machine, while at least a dozen arms picked them up and pieced them together like a puzzle. Some pieces were simply welded onto the whole, while others locked into place thanks to an integrated design that allowed for ease of assembly. Although some connections were more intimate, like the circuits and other electrical connections, and some of the manufacturer's arms disassembled, connected, and reassembled sections of the whole and assembly parts as necessary.

The two unicorns observed the entire process with unfettered curiosity. Despite appearing lightning quick to them, the assembly of that one Nova actually took almost ten minutes to complete. But even when finished, it still appeared... wrong. Incomplete, somehow. Twilight simply chalked it up to the fact that it hadn't been painted yet, as well as the fact that its eye remained dormant where she felt it should have been glowing yellow.

The very instant assembly of the Nova was complete, the manufacturer's arms pulled away, and a mechanism that had been holding the Nova's torso in place from behind hoisted it up into the air and back, before flying down somewhere into the darkness with the entire Liandri. A mere heartbeat later, another mechanism swooped in, carrying only an incomplete torso, and the process began anew.

"This..." Shining Armor muttered, attempting to find the proper words. A deep frown crossed his face as he spoke. "This... this just isn't natural..."

"Everything is natural, Shining," Alex answered as he watched the next Liandri being assembled. "It's just a matter of learning what nature's rules are, and then exploiting them. Such is the way of technological advancement."

Twilight, however, ignored their words. Instead, her eyes focused on something else: an anomaly. One of the manufacturer’s arms was trying to grasp one of the assembly pieces, but for one reason or another, it wasn’t able to close its grip, despite its clear attempts. It became especially obvious something was wrong when another arm swooped in and picked up the piece instead, while the seemingly malfunctioning one angled itself away from the others.

“Hey, Alex?” said Twilight, pointing at the arm. “I don’t think that one’s working right.”

Alex eyed the component in question. “I think you’re right. A Seraph should be coming by any second now to fix it.”

No sooner did he say those words than did they come true. A blue light rounded the nearest corner and made a beeline straight for them. The bot’s sudden appearance caused Twilight to yelp and jump back in surprise, but in doing so, gave the Seraph the room it needed to work while giving her the opportunity to get a good look at this unknown Liandri.

Although it seemed more like half a Liandri. It possessed the typical humanoid features, such as a head, arms, and torso, but it had no legs of any sort. Instead, it floated through the air with impossible grace. But what was even more stunning was the ghostly blue light that almost seemed to leak from the parts of its body that Twilight could only assume were the ones responsible for keeping it airborne.

At least, that’s what she thought they were. As far as she knew, they were just hexagonal patterns lining the underside of its chest and pelvic area. A pair of narrow devices protruded from its back and extended down, only slightly further than its legless hips. The rest of its metallic frame was sleeker than any other Liandri she had ever seen, and even though it wasn’t insignificant in its size, it moved as if it were weightless.

Twilight’s eyes remained fixed on this angelic Liandri as it carefully held the manufacturer’s malfunctioning arm from underneath with one hand, while gently caressing it with the other. It was almost as if the Seraph were trying to sooth it. Then it released the malfunctioning arm and placed its hands on either side of it.

Without any form of pretext or warning, a bright blue light fractured the Seraph’s hands and forearms from within, and a split second later, both limbs scattered apart into dozens, even hundreds of tiny floating pieces, each emitting an ethereal blue, turquoise, or green glow. Shining Armor let out a surprised yelp as the Seraph's arms exploded apart the way that they did, but Twilight was much too enraptured by the dance of lights happening before her to notice.

Within the swarm of light was the malfunctioning arm, and only when Twilight focused her eyes as much as possible could she see that that section of the arm had been entirely disassembled with its parts floating within the cloud of luminescence. In only a matter of seconds, the manufacturer’s arm had been reassembled by the dancing lights, and then the pieces that composed the Seraph’s arms flew back together, instantly reforming complete and solid limbs again.

The manufacturer’s arm raised itself away from the Seraph, repeatedly closing and opening its now perfectly functional digits. Apparently satisfied with the repair job, the arm returned to its siblings to complete the job it had started. As it did so, the Seraph turned its head towards Twilight, who was still in a state of complete bewilderment. Her unbelieving eyes stared up at the flattened V shaped visor of its streamlined head, the blue light coming from them an ever familiar color.

Of its own accord, the Seraph turned its body completely towards her and lowered itself down to her level, keeping their eye contact. It then brought up a hand, pinched her cheek, and said in Rose’s voice: “I love it when you look like that.” It then let go, turned, and shot off towards its next destination, disappearing from sight just as quickly and abruptly as it had arrived.

When Shining Armor and Twilight hadn’t managed to either move or even formulate a single word, Alex took the opportunity to speak. “Yeah, they’re something, alright. Just wanna put it out there that I’ve pretty much had nothing to do with them. Rose designed them entirely on her own. Kinda shows, since they’re way more elegant than anything I could have ever come up with; that’s for damn sure.”

“Alex, that…” Twilight’s throat struggled to allow her to form words. “That… That..." Finally, she just simply shook her head and cracked a smile. "I feel like I've used this around you way too much, but that was unbelievable."

Alex shook his head. "No, no, unbelievable is the right word. To be honest, even I'm not sure how they work. Even if I found the time to look over the design, I still don't think I'd be able to wrap my head around it. Anyway, come on. Storage is the place I really want to show you, Shining Armor. It'll go a long way in explaining just how exactly we plan to deal with the changelings."

"Then let's go," Shining agreed as he started to follow Alex again. "This place is starting to get a little too weird for me."

"Weird?!" Twilight protested as she trotted alongside her brother. "Shiny, this place is amazing! It's like a whole other world, sitting right under Ponyville!"

Her brother frowned. "That is another problem all on its own. A place like this just can’t be legal..."

"Unfortunately for you, Shining, you're not in a position to dispute that," said Alex, not bothering to look over his shoulder. "Simply put, this entire facility is fucking massive. If you've got a problem with us being here like this, then by all means, bitch and moan about it. Just don't tell yourself you have to capacity to actually evict us."

Shining Armor turned his frown up to Alex. “Hey, what’s your problem, anyway? We have laws and regulations for a reason.”

“Let me make myself perfectly clear…” Alex stopped and turned around completely to face Shining Armor. “I am a man of action. I hate bureaucracy, and I despise red tape. There is little I hate more than having to sit around, doing nothing, while some dumbfuck in a suit twirls his thumbs, considering whether or not I have permission to do something useful.” He leaned further in. “I. am. done. asking for permission.”

Just ask Alex finished his words, and before Shining Armor could say his, a low growling noise cut through the ambient sounds of The Pits and drew away everyone’s attention. Alex and Shining Armor slowly turned their heads to the left and right respectively to stare into a patch of darkness that branched off from the walkway. Twilight, whose ears had been perked in anticipation of having to break those two apart again, flattened them and stared into the darkness where the noise had come from, an uncomfortable shiver running down her spine. “W-what was that…?”

Alex stood up straight and ignored her question. “Well heyo. What are you doing here?” he said in an almost playful manner, apparently able to see something in the darkness that the two ponies couldn’t.

A response came in the form of two small red lights suddenly appearing within the shadows. At the same time, and even louder growl washed over them like a wave of pure unease. Or perhaps that was the wave of heat that inexplicably emerged from the darkness as well. For one reason or another, Twilight’s basest instincts bucked her in the head, telling her to run; to leave right now. And yet, her hooves remained in place.

“What are you looking at…?” Shining Armor muttered to himself as he projected light from his horn to illuminate the one who interrupted their staredown. Almost immediately, Shining regretted the decision. He cut off the magic to his horn and backed up, making sure his sister remained behind him at all times.

The Seraph was a thing of beauty. This was a thing of nightmares.

The enshrouded machine’s eyes finally moved from their position. Quiet whirs and the louder clunking of metal against metal signaled the Liandri’s movement. A titanic arm emerged from the darkness, it’s thick, almost clawed fingers seemingly grabbing for the ponies, until the hand veered to the side and braced itself against another, anchored machine with a loud metallic smash. One thing was clear: delicacy was not its intention. The set of blood red eyes moved upwards to the sound of more clanging metal until the Liandri they belonged to towered over both of the ponies, and even well over Alex.

Finally, the cybernetic emerged from the darkness, making it visible to all. More than ever, Twilight’s instincts kicked and screamed at her to run as fast as she could, yet the sheer terror of the sight before her kept her paralyzed.

This Liandri was huge; tall and broad enough that it couldn’t move around without bumping into something. Its outside was nothing but pure armor—angular, heavy, and probably impenetrable—painted green, black, and grey in a digital camouflage pattern, while a constant wave of heat poured out from it. But the most unsettling thing of all was its face. Two tiny red dots rested within deep black sockets, below which was a long row of pointed teeth. In fact, its head appeared almost skeletal, though pointed ridges adorned its jaw, cheeks, and forehead, giving it an unnatural look.

But there was no denying it. This Liandri’s head had the overall shape of what could only be a human skull.

“What the hay is that thing?!” Shining exclaimed as he lit his horn in preparation for self defense. The super-heavy Liandri slowly lowered its head closer to the two unicorns and allowed its toothy jaw to hang ajar, revealing a second, inner set of sharpened teeth, beyond which was a discomforting orange glow. Its body even heaved in time with its rumbling growls, giving the impression that it was breathing.

“Whoa, easy there,” said Alex, placing a hand on the Liandri’s titanic shoulder. As he did, the giant eased up, though kept is disturbing gaze fixed on the ponies. “This is a Skulldozer,” Alex explained. “We designed them in response to the attack on Canterlot. These guys hold a very… unique place within the Corps.”

“Alex, why would you make something like this?!” blurted Twilight, who was stuck between her brother and another machine, and unable to look away from the Skulldozer’s bony visage and its crimson gaze. She couldn’t help but get the feeling that it was eying her like a timberwolf would a piece of raw meat. “That thing is terrifying!”

“That’s actually kind of the point,” said Alex, crossing his arms. “They’re not meant to pacify—they’re meant to terrify. Pound for pound, they’re also the single most physically powerful unit we’ve ever built.”

Shining Armor fixed his eyes on Alex. “Why would you make something meant to terrify ponies!?”

Alex shook his head. “They’re not meant to scare ponies. They’re not even supposed to interact with ponies. Hell, they can’t even talk. Nah…” He tapped a knuckle against the Skulldozer’s gigantic arm. “These guys are strictly reserved for combat deployment. Speaking of which…” Alex looked up at the Skulldozer’s face as he beckoned Shining Armor and Twilight over, and they gladly moved behind him.. “You shouldn’t be here. Go on, go! You know where you need to be.”

A deep rumble escaped the Skulldozer as its form of acknowledgement, and the giant turned, easing its movements into a slow, lumbering gait in the direction the group of three just came from. Although it's size gave it more than a bit of trouble navigating the narrow walkway.

Twilight’s heart finally calmed itself as the Skulldozer left, its every movement echoing throughout the area. Though as she stared at the machine’s backside, she couldn’t help but scold herself at her reaction. It was a Liandri! Of course it wouldn’t hurt her or her brother!

But just as Twilight finished entertaining the thought, Alex’s words struck a chord. You shouldn’t be here. Go on, go! You know where you need to be. The perpetual gears in Twilight’s mind kicked up again. If that Liandri was supposed to be somewhere else, why was it here, sitting alone in the dark…?

“Alright, not much further now,” Alex announced as he walked passed the two unicorns, interrupting Twilight’s train of thought.

“I still don’t see what would drive you to create a monster like that,” Shining quipped as he followed after him, Twilight close behind.

“Fear is a powerful tool, Shining Armor,” Alex answered. “Couple that with a reputation, and you find yourself in the unique position of being able to control a battle whichever way you want. For now, Skulldozers have no reputation. In fact, no one other than ourselves know they even exist. By the end of the day, all of that is going to change.”

Shining Armor glared at the back of his head. None of what he was saying sounded good. “And just what kind of reputation are you hoping they get?”

Alex raised his hand and counted off his fingers. “First, that Skulldozers are not common. Matter of fact, we’ve only built a few. Second, that if you do see one, it means bad things for whoever it’s after. Third, if it’s after you, you’re fucked. Fourth, if you see more than one…” He turned his head to look at Shining out of the corner of his visor. “...Run.”

“You’re talking as if those things are invincible,” Shining retorted as Alex turned his head back.

“That’s because they are. We designed and built them from the ground up to be walking tanks. Anything short of high-grade explosives is only going to annoy them.”

“What about magic?” Twilight automatically asked. It was a legitimate question, after all. Alex held the Novas in exceptionally high regard too, but Chrysalis’ magic ended up being their downfall in the end.

“What about it?” Alex asked in return, as if it were the most irrelevant thing she could have proposed.

His response threw a wrench into Twilight’s gears. Did he not consider it an issue for some reason? “Chrysalis used magic to defeat the Liandri last time. Aren’t you afraid that’ll happen again?”

“Not at all.” Again, Alex spoke as if they were discussing any other mundane topic. He then rapped a hand against his plated chest as they walked. “Here, go ahead and cast a spell on me.”

Twilight blinked at him. “What? Why?”

“So I can show you why it’s not a problem,” he answered. “Go ahead. Any spell—it doesn’t matter.”

“If you insist,” said Shining as his horn adopted its aura and its magic focused on Alex.

At that instant, a shimmering light enveloped Alex, creating a prismatic skin that hovered just a few centimeters from the surface of his armor. Colors shifted and swirled around him, and only disappeared back into nothingness when Shining Armor ceased his attempted spell.

Shining gawked at Alex’s backside owlishly. “What the hay just happened?”

Alex looked over his shoulder at him. “Didn’t work, did it?”

“The magical countermeasures!” Twilight gasped, mimicking her brother’s expression, though with significantly more wonder mixed in. “You managed to get it working!”

“Actually, Rose managed to get it working,” Alex corrected her as he stopped next to an oddly placed automatic door that didn’t open to their presence. “Since Nova two didn’t get completely fucked up, Rose was able to extract some diagnostic data from our little test. She found the problem, fixed it, and now every Corps unit is shielded from magical interactions.”

“That’s fantastic!” cheered Twilight, clapping her hooves against the ground.

“Yeah…” Shining Armor drawled as he looked over at his sister. “Fantastic…”

Alex cocked his head, his grin invisible behind his helmet. “Something the matter, big guy? Your ally managed to fix his one weakness against your mutual enemy. Figured you’d be happy about that.”

Shining Armor grit his teeth and inhaled deeply. With full lungs, he said, “As long as the changelings are the only thing this will be used against, I’m fine with it.”

“Of course you are. Now then...” Alex gestured towards the door. “What you’re both about to see is something spectacular. It is a fundamental step. One of countless steps that humanity has taken throughout its entire hundreds of millions of years of speciation and history. A step that all sapient species aspire to one day take.”

At those words, the door opened and Alex took the lead through it. He swung out his arms, just as his helmet hissed and granted his head freedom. “Behold!” he proclaimed. “This is humanity’s legacy! The final few steps approaching evolution’s ultimate result: the singularity! This is the true meaning of the deus ex machina; the GOD in the machine!”

Alex’s introduction left a smile on Twilight’s face. Just the idea of hundreds of millions of years of unknown history was enough to warm her heart and get it racing with anticipation. When the door opened and Alex went through it, she found it led to a closed off balcony. However, what lay beyond the guardrail, coupled with Alex’s monologue, chilled her heart, and the smile she held slowly vanished, mimicking her brother’s wide-eyed look.

Alex turned around to face the two unicorns, a grin accenting his blazing eyes. “This, Shining Armor. This is what it means to have the means of production.”

Behind Alex stretched an endless chasm, filled with titanic shelving units. Harsh lighting highlighted unknown machinery filling every space. The rows upon rows of machinery stretched far into the distance, and extended from the ceiling to depths where the light no longer reached. Lining the massive storage units stood dozens; hundreds; thousands of Liandri. Each one painted and armed. Each one dormant and waiting for the order to awaken. Each one ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Each one ready for war.