Gear in the Machine
Chapter 4
Respect.exe FILE NOT FOUND
****
Ferrous Dominus sector 4
Mechanicus dorms
"I just don't see what the big deal is. The additional power output isn't necessarily worth risking a human's life. The sub-particle exigen conduit is unjustifiably considered a bothersome 'accessory' by the Mechanicus. Meanwhile, they literally worship their plasma guns even while they keep exploding in people's faces."
Gear Works trotted along the cramped, bare metal corridors of his home dormitory while Striker bobbed along behind him. The servo skull beeped.
"No, I'm not questioning the Mechanicus orthodoxy. The orthodoxy recommends the preservation of our warriors and the basic safety of active wargear. It just seems strange that plasma weapons seem to be some kind of unhealthy exception while humans scoff at the multiple examples of aliens utilizing it safely. It's like they're proud that so many users get themselves incinerated."
Striker tilted back and forth, its cables swinging from side to side while it bleated its reply.
"Okay, fine. They ARE really cool. But still. The loss of manpower suffered by the Iron Warriors to their own plasma guns is atrocious. It's only barely worth it."
Gear Works reached his room and turned toward the door. It promptly detected his access signum, and the door slid open.
"Gears! There you are! I've been waiting since sundown!" Dusk Blade stood up atop Gear's bed, his expression one of profound distress.
Gear Works paused briefly, and then sent a signal to the door to close and lock it. A dull hiss came from the mechanism from the forced override, and it started to slide closed again.
Dusk leapt like a cat, twisting through the air and kicking off the edge of the doorway with his hooves. The door pressed closed and locked right behind him, barely missing the edge of his tail.
The thestral hit the floor next to Gear Works, and then poked him in the side. "C'mon man, let's hit the bar. I need to talk to you."
Gears wasn't sure if he was more annoyed or relieved that Dusk Blade seemed to ignore him trying to force the door closed. Doing so meant that Dusk could have easily been crushed in the door frame, and he was pretty sure the bat pony knew that.
"Lieutenant, I'm afraid whatever you want to talk about will have to wait. I have a lot of reading to do on metallurgy and advanced thermodynamic integral theory tonight."
"Yeah, and that sounds really cool and everything, but this is important!" Dusk poked him again. "I really need somepony to talk to about this!"
"Ah, so this isn't even a matter that actually concerns me? I just happen to be somepony you hope will listen to your problems?" Gears grumbled. "Do you honestly think I have nothing better to do?"
"C'mon Gears! I'm your best friend!" Dusk insisted, poking him again.
"The hay you are! I barely consider you my worst friend!"
"Well, I presume that I'm your only friend, actually, which means I kind of get all the related positions by default," Dusk explained. While poking Gear Works again. "But the point is, I'm a friend, and listening to your friend's problems is what friends do! C'moooooon!" He poked the cyborg again.
Gear Works bristled in agitation. "All right! Fine! Stop jabbing me!" He whirled around to face down the hall. "Go ahead, lead the way. If you really need someone to absorb your whining, I'm sure I'll survive wasting a few more hours of my life indulging you." He glanced up at Striker. "You can stay here. Look for any signs of forced entry in the room."
"It won't find any," Dusk Blade assured him before leading the other pony toward the exit. "Anyway, thanks, Gears! You're the best!"
"You've already implied that I'm the only pony that will listen to you, and we both know that's only because you annoyed me into submission." The Aspirant sighed. "So what is this about, anyway?"
The change in Dusk's demeanor was severe and immediate. His steps became trudging and weak, his ears pinned to the side of his head, and he hung his head lower to the floor.
"It's... It's Twilight Sparkle."
"Princess Twilight Sparkle? What about her?"
Dusk Blade took a deep breath. "She's... She's gone, Gears."
Gear Works mulled that over for a few seconds. Then he connected to the noosphere and brought up the casualty lists on his visor.
"No, she isn't."
The Lunar Lieutenant rounded on him immediately. "What? She's still here? WHERE?! TELL ME!" Before the cyborg could reply, Dusk shoved him into the wall and pinned him there. "I thought she had taken off with the fleet! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING HER, YOU USELESS HEAP OF TIN?!"
Gears squeaked as Dusk held a hoofblade up against his neck. "I'm not hiding her anywhere! She IS with the 38th Company's fleet! I thought you meant that she was dead!"
Dusk Blade held his infuriated expression for a few moments longer, and then it melted back into despair. "Oh." He backed away from the other stallion, and then started trudging down the hall again.
"No, no need to apologize. I'm just fine. Thanks for asking," Gear Works mumbled while following the thestral again. "So, may I ask why this is such a tragedy? Why do you care what Princess Sparkle does?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Dusk growled, bitterly kicking at the floor. "I'm... in love with her."
Gear Works didn't reply right away, remaining silent as the two stallions reached the end of the hallway. Dusk had to pause at the door to the mag-lift and wait for Gears, as his security clearance wasn't recognized inside the dorm. It briefly had Gears wondering yet again how the bat pony got around so easily in the Mechanicus facilities, but this was only a brief distraction from the other stallion's admission.
They entered the lift, and the door closed behind them.
"For the record: No. That was not obvious. I am very surprised to hear that you harbor an infatuation with Princess Sparkle," Gear Works said while the lift started dropping toward the ground floor.
"It's not an 'infatuation!'" Dusk griped. "I'm not just ogling her from afar or fantasizing over pict-captures and newspaper clippings! I'm not just drawn by her fame or that deliciously spankable purple flank!"
Gears cringed, his visor flickering.
"I don't just want to sleep with her or 'ache for her touch' or anything so melodramatic! I want to talk to her, learn her secrets, support her, and BE with her! Start a relationship, and eventually a family! This is real, Gears!"
"Okay, fine. Have it your way. I'm surprised to hear about all of this, but far be it from me to judge the integrity of your feelings."
The lift reached the designated floor, and the doors slid open. Gear Works led the way into the hallway.
"I'm not completely unsympathetic, either. I too have known the misery of pining for a mare that doesn't even know I exist," Gear Works admitted. "I'm far above such emotional frailties now, of course, but back in school I often yearned for the attention of ponies who never learned my name. It is a miserable feeling, to be sure. My sister often teased me about the matter while we were in school, asking why I never seemed to spend any time with my 'marefriends.' Feh!"
Dusk coughed awkwardly. "Well... see... that isn't really the problem, exactly."
"Yes, of course not. Being unable to muster the courage to introduce yourself to a filly is much different from being separated by the greater part of the galaxy," Gears mused.
They approached the entrance, and the guard servitor suddenly swiveled toward them, guns humming with power. Gears froze in shock, his heart seizing up in his chest.
The servitor didn't fire, and after a few seconds of trying to remember how to breathe, Gear Works identified the problem. Dusk Blade was standing behind him, and the servitor was naturally programmed to fire on unauthorized intruders. The only reason it wasn't shooting was because Gears was in the way, and the preservation of Dark Mechanicus personnel (barely) took priority.
"By the Omnissiah, HOW do you get around in here on your own?" Gears growled. He cautiously started forward again, his visor locked on the servitor's phosphor blaster.
Dusk Blade followed closely behind him, keeping the Aspirant firmly between him and the cyborg guard. "It's a secret. Just keep going, I'm fine."
The stallions crossed the threshold from the hall to the building lobby, and the servitor promptly determined that the bat pony was no longer in restricted territory. Its targeting sensors dimmed and it swiveled forward again.
"Anyway, like I was saying..." Dusk stepped in front again, and used the tip of one wing to slide his respirator mask in place. "... My relationship with Twilight Sparkle isn't really so... anonymous. She definitely knows who I am."
"She does? So does she not know about your feelings?" Gear Works inquired.
The doors to the base exterior opened, and the two ponies stepped into the cool, filthy night air. Dusk walked up to the sidewalk, and then paused.
"Wellllll..."
****
Ferrous Dominus sector 6
Iron Flask Distillery
"You own a SLAVE?! What the blazing hay is wrong with you?!"
Numerous ponies swiveled around upon hearing the shout, turning to face the pair of stallions that had just entered the establishment.
As strange as the shout was, the pair of equines walking toward the bar were even stranger. Even after months of Gear's service to the Dark Mechanicus, most ponies were unaware that there were any equines in the cult. There were also no thestrals in the building other than Dusk Blade; to the bat ponies, the current hour was still considered a time for breakfast rather than booze.
"Could you not shout details of my personal life to everything in the room, please?" Dusk snapped, glaring at Gear Works.
"Owning a human is not a personal 'detail,' Lieutenant! It is not an irrelevant scrap of trivia to be filed away along with your favorite food and preferences regarding role-playing games!" Gear Works hissed. "It's no wonder Princess Sparkle loathes you!"
The stallions reached the bar, electing to sit at the farthest end where they couldn't be easily overheard by the other patrons. Dusk hopped up onto his seat, and then turned an arched brow on his companion.
"I have to say, I'm a little surprised to find out that you're an abolitionist," he mumbled.
"No. No, I am not an 'abolitionist.' I am not an abolitionist because I do not accept that the institution of slavery is a mere political issue on which reasonable and intelligent ponies can hold differing opinions. In the absence of non-abolitionists, I refuse to be defined by something that should be a universal moral standard."
"Uh... hello?" Dusk raised a hoof. "Reasonable and intelligent pony, here."
"Tell that to your SLAVE, you monster," Gears retorted.
"Sorry to interrupt you colts, but what can I get you?" asked a turquoise unicorn. She had a martini glass for a cutie mark, and the way she was magically rubbing a clean glass with a dry towel for no obvious reason confirmed that she was the bartender.
"I'll have a Ginger Joke. I don't want to get too drowsy right after waking up," requested the bat pony.
"Distilled water, please," said Gears.
"Gotcha," the bartender said, "and while it isn't any of my business, I feel compelled to add that the sudden prevalence of slave-holding institutions does not detract from the ethical consensus that it is fundamentally wrong. Slavery is terrible, and you, Sir, are a butt." She jabbed a hoof at Dusk Blade, and then swiftly turned away.
Dusk rolled his eyes before turning back to Gear Works. "Really, dude? Water? Your waking hours are almost over. Lighten up a little."
"NEVER," Gear Works intoned. "Intoxicants are merely lubricants for the weak mind. The servants of the Machine God do not allow... wait, no. Never mind that. We were talking about slavery and how horrible you are."
"Yeah, about that... Isn't the DarkMech the primary slave-holding organization in the 38th Company? Isn't it a little hypocritical for you to be acting all high-and-mighty?"
"It may indeed be a sign of moral weakness for me to be part of a slave-holding cult while being strongly opposed to the practice. Although under the same logic, all Equestrian citizens are at fault for being a vassal state to the 38th Company and the Iron Warriors." Gears shook his head. "But I remain personally and stubbornly opposed to the practice! Were it within my power, every slave in the Dark Mechanicus would be freed immediately!"
"Even the Eldar?" Dusk countered.
"I'm not opposed to summary execution, so there are other options to deal with the less popular alien species. But no slavery!" Gear Works insisted. "I tolerate the practice only insofar as I am helpless to change it. And I CERTAINLY don't use it as an excuse to take a slave of my own!"
"Okay, well, what about sheep and cows?" Dusk Blade asked. "Or certain ponies' habit of taking on 'assistants' who don't seem to warrant a regular income?"
"That's not slavery! We spent centuries denigrating those species to establish that they're less intelligent and capable than we are! They're more akin to pets than servants!"
Dusk Blade frowned, mulling that over. "... Is that better, though?"
"Yes."
The bartender returned with a small metal goblet for Dusk and a glass for Gears, and she wordlessly placed both on the bar surface before trotting off again.
"All right, I think it's time to get back on track, here. This is about the love of my life leaving the planet for a horrible reality-disfiguring scar in the middle of space, not my refusal to emphathize with helpless prisoners," Dusk Blade insisted before taking up his goblet in his wingtip.
Gears pulled the breathing tube leading to his mask out of his chest and dropped it into the glass of water. "I'm fairly certain the latter has something to do with the former. Even you seem quite certain that your explicitly awful behavior is the reason she doesn't like you."
"Right, I get THAT. And I'm willing to change! But-"
"Are you? Really?"
"I'm willing to appear to change! But what's the point if Twilight Sparkle isn't even here to see it? How am I supposed to work with this? Just tell her as soon as she gets home, 'Hi, remember me? The stallion you hate because he's not the nicest pony in the world? I'm all better now! Go out with me!' Why would she believe that?"
"She wouldn't. But that is at least in part because you're the type of pony to believe that the only reason not to be awful is to seduce the mare you like."
"It's not the ONLY reason," Dusk scoffed, gulping down the last of his drink. "Like, before I joined the Company, another reason would be that acting horrible wasn't tolerated and sometimes actually illegal. But those barriers are gone now." He raised his head up and turned toward the bartender. "Give me another!"
Gear Works shook his head while another cocktail magically slid across the counter to his companion. "Don't you have a job to do tonight? You may want to abstain from consuming more than one drink an hour."
"Pff! Not a problem! I already got somepony to cover for me," the Lunar Lieutenant scoffed. "Everything will be fine!"
****
Field Camp 14-C
"Now listen here! The Orks have entrenched in the southern half of the village! We're looking at trenches, lower-order barricades, and improvised gun nests! The greater part of the settlement was ruined in the initial bombardment, creating lots of dangerous terrain and potential trap and ambush sites!"
Four squads of Lunar Guard in full armor and uniform watched the pointer levitate across a floating hololith, surrounded by a yellow glow.
"The approach vector is from the east! You'll be striking fast and hard! Create as large a ruckus as possible, hit the softest targets, and then move! You can expect the Orks to counter-attack quickly, and with everything they have on hand!"
Several of the higher-ranking thestrals glanced at each other. It was hard to judge expressions through the obscuring respirator masks and optical visors, but they definitely got the sense that they were all wondering the same thing.
"When they do, you fall back! Specifically, you fly North, keeping a low-altitude path through the aforementioned ruins! The Orks will follow you out of their defenses and into the same territory we don't want to fight through! You let our two-legged friends handle the rest!"
Some of the Lunar Guards whispered to each other. Others shook their heads.
"You're advised to hit any explosives caches you see! Not only will this cause the most damage among the enemy, but it will be the first place the greenskins run for when they realize they're under attack! Also feel free to drop some flares and beacons on your way through the village ruins, as it will assist the counter-offensive. Any questions?"
One Lieutenant immediately raised a wing.
"Lieutenant Moonlight Blaze, I believe? Go ahead."
"Uh, yeah... you're... Prince Blueblood, right?"
Prince Blueblood stood before the flickering hololith, grimacing at the ranks of bat ponies before him. A peaked cap with a Chaos Star sat on his head, and he was fitted with an officer's jacket that had never been worn before this very night.
"I am indeed. You'll have to forgive me for not introducing myself before I began; I was not aware I was briefing the 'special needs' division," the Prince sneered.
Angry grumbling came from some of the Lunar Guard, but Moonlight just chuckled ruefully. "Uh huh. Look, Prince, I don't know what kind of command authority ordering around menials gives you, but I-"
Moonlight suddenly yelped and ducked as a bolt pisol snapped up through the air and fired near her head. She had no idea if it had been actually aimed at her, but her very sensitive ears could tell that it came within inches of her mane. The rest of the thestrals went silent, barely daring to breathe.
"Lieutenant, I believe very strongly in the concept of division of labor," Blueblood said calmly while smoke leaked from the barrel of his bolt pistol. "You, judging by your profession and rank, are adept at sneaking, combat, and making quick tactical decisions. I, on the other hand, specialize in giving orders and thrashing insolent morons." He sighed, turning his head away and brushing aside a lock of golden mane. "However, I'm simply not used to working these sorts of hours. I would really like to skip the latter obligation, if you would let me. What do you say?"
The hammer of the bolt pistol clicked back.
"Yes, Sir! Leaving, Sir!" Moonlight barked, leaping away. The rest of the Lunar Guard followed, vanishing in a burst of frantically flapping wings.
****
Ferrous Dominus sector 6
Iron Flask Distillery
"And now... now she's GONE! And I... I never got to tell her how I feel about her!"
Gear Works watched silently as Dusk Blade sniffled and wiped at his eyes. There were now half a dozen empty goblets on the counter in front of the Lieutenant. This concerned him, as he had only managed to drain two glasses of water during the same time period.
"I thought you DID get to tell her how you felt about her."
"Well... yeah, but it was right before she went after that Gargant. Neither of us thought she was going to come back from that, so it doesn't really count."
"I don't see why not. And your feelings clearly aren't the problem here, anyway. Her's are."
The bartender levitated another Ginger Joke cocktail over to Dusk Blade, and the bat pony snatched it out of the air with his wing. He tilted his head back, his jaws yawned open, and then he slowly tilted the cup over to drain the liquid straight down his throat.
"I have to say, though... I'm still surprised that your fixation is with Princess Sparkle. I wouldn't have thought she was your type," Gears confessed.
Dusk slammed the empty goblet down onto the bar counter. "What's THAT supposed to mean?"
"It means that I'd have assumed someone more like Princess Luna would be the subject of your desire," the Aspirant reasoned, "I mean, for starters, she's much, MUCH prettier."
Dusk Blade snorted and swatted one of the empty goblets to the side. It flew through the air and struck Gear Works in the head, bouncing off with a metallic ring. "Oh, come on. Gears, let's get something straight: my turn-on is intelligence. We have a word for ponies you'd want to rut but never talk to. It's pronounced 'prostitute.'"
Gears stared hard at the bat pony, his visor dimming slightly. "Did... Did you just call Princess Luna a-"
"Don't get me wrong," Dusk continued, "Luna is flat-out, no-contest, the most gorgeous mare I've ever met. That's a group that includes all four Princesses, Canterlot's top models, and possibly two zebra duchesses. I can't be sure if there were one or two. She said they were twins, but I never saw them in the same room together. I think. It was weird." He shook his head to clear it. "But anyway, as I was saying... I doubt I could have a single conversation with Luna without slamming my head into a wall to dull the pain. Maybe her level of education was acceptable for a noble a thousand years ago, but today we have remedial school. We have been contacted by extraterrestrial life which has never before set foot on our planet, and most of THEM are easier to understand than our beloved Princess of the Night."
Gear Works kept staring. Dusk looked up into the Aspirant's visor and frowned.
"Uh... she's not... behind me, is she?" he asked nervously.
"No. I'm just... shocked, I suppose," Gears mumbled. "I've never heard such frank criticism of the Princesses. Especially not in respect to their intellect."
"HA! If you want to see some real criticism of those twits, I have LITERAL essays written on the subject! I was going to submit them to Canterlot's academies for publication, but it turns out there are a few unfortunate laws on the matter of criticizing the royal family." Another goblet dropped down in front of the Lieutenant, and he took a long sip from it. "The ponies are the only species on our world in which every individual is guaranteed to have a subject of expertise or profound, specific skill. And who do we put in charge of our nation, to administer and manage our legislation and diplomacy? The ponies really good at moving giant space rocks. Thanks a lot, royal order! There's somepony who is a real, actual genius at making laws and managing bureaucracy, and they're running a book club while YOU dimwits decide to build settlements next to magic horror forests in-between cake binges and dances you don't even like attending!!"
Gears flinched as Dusk slammed a hoof on the counter, ratting the empty goblets. Several of the bar patrons were staring or whispering now, while some others were quickly preparing to leave.
"Okay, this is kind of veering off-topic, so-"
"Right! Topic! Topic Twilight Sparkle!" Dusk nodded fervently. "Twilight Sparkle is different! Easily as smart as the rest of those giggling alicorn buffoons put together! So do they put her in charge of anything? Nope! Let's turn the smart one into a little purple attack hound! Send her after Discord and rogue dragons and Celestia's evil sister! And she did it! And she WON!"
He raised the cocktail goblet to his lips, emptying it in a few gulps. Then he flung the container at Gears, bouncing it off the cyborg's forehead again.
"And then came the humans. The Iron Warriors. 'Hey, Twilight Sparkle, go get rid of them,' Celestia said. HAH! Can you imagine? The Elements of Harmony, fighting against the Chaos Space Marines?" No more cocktails appeared next to him on the counter, so he reached over and swiped Gear's water. He gulped it down and then dropped the glass onto the counter with a contented sigh.
"Just think, Gears... it's only thanks to her that we have ANY of this." He waved at the surroundings with a foreleg. "Augmetic limbs... corrosion-proof alloys... night vision optics... bucking SPACE TRAVEL, Gears! She could have devoted her entire life to studying magic and science and brought dozens of amazing technologies and insights to Equestria! Instead she somehow managed to do something even better! That's... She's... I don't even have words for that!"
"Of course, the encroachment of Chaos has had some unfortunate effects as well," Gear Works pointed out. "Although I suppose if you're somehow supportive of hostile invasions and the enslavement of defeated enemies, then there really are few downsides here."
Dusk shook his head. "Twilight Sparkle is the most incredible and awesome thing to happen to the equine races. And when you meet her, she doesn't even act like it's that big a deal! She'll happily debate the ethics of owning a human being with anypony that happens to walk by, while wearing her amazing space-faring armor, as if she seriously had nothing better to be doing! Intelligence, charm, tact, humility, power, gra... um... well, grace is debatable, I suppose."
"Also, her face is average, at best," Gears interjected.
"At least she HAS one!" Dusk snapped before bouncing another goblet off of Gear's visor.
"Touché."
Dusk Blade sighed miserably and slumped against the counter. It hadn't escaped his attention that he was no longer being served more cocktails, and he could guess why.
"I don't know what to do, Gears. How can I ever hope to get a mare like her? A poor, weaselly scumbag like me doesn't even deserve her..."
"You're right, you absolutely don't, and those descriptors are only a few of the many, many reasons," Gear Works agreed.
A series of three empty goblets bounced off of his optics visor in rapid succession.
"BUT..." the Aspirant continued when the barrage ended. "... If you want to give it another shot, I have an idea."
"REALLY?!" Dusk was in his face in an instant, pressing his nose up against the mono-lens of Gear's optical augment. "Tell me! Please! What can I do?"
"Calm down, you pitiful sack of flesh," Gears grumbled, pushing the other stallion away with his servo arm. "You said it yourself. You can change, or at least put in a good, convincing show of it, but if you just try to tell her that when she gets back then she'll just assume you're lying and brush you off. You need proof."
"Pict-captures! No, wait, vid-captures are better! I'll record myself fighting the enemies of Equestria! Slaying Orks by the dozen and defending the pony citizens!"
Dusk's excitement was quickly building, and Gears tapped the side of his head to keep his attention. "No, Lieutenant. Your bravery or skill in combat isn't in question, and it's not the sort of thing to impress Princess Sparkle anyway. Look at the ponies she surrounds herself with. Her friends. What kind of traits does she look for in the ponies closest to her? What are the other aspects of the Elements of Harmony?"
Dusk Blade blinked. Then his brow furrowed in concentration. "That would be... cowardice, avarice, arrogance, ignorance, and whatever that pink weirdo stands for. I'm pretty sure she's a murderer. No WAY did all those pilots just give her their Dreadnoughts."
It took a few seconds for Gears to come up with a response to that. "... So, do you just think everypony other than you and Princess Sparkle is completely awful?"
"Not really. I can be pretty hard on myself, honestly."
"Whatever. You're wrong. Ultimately what I'm getting at is that if you can convince Princess Sparkle's friends that you're not a complete mule, then they can vouch for you. Spend some time around them. Help them. Be nice to them, but without any obvious expectation of reward or ulterior motives."
"But I'm only doing this with the ulterior motive of them rewarding me by telling Twilight Sparkle how I'm not a jerk," the thestral pointed out.
"Right. I said 'obvious' expectations or motives. You have to be subtle."
"I can do subtle!" Dusk Blade insisted, nodding rapidly. "Yeah... okay! This could totally work! Judging by my reconaissance of her social circle, she complains to her friends about me all the time! If they could refute her, then I'm sure she'd give me a chance!"
"A chance which you'll have to be careful not to ruin," Gears warned. "All of this effort will go to waste if you immediately present Princess Sparkle with first-hand evidence that you're as casually cruel and amoral as ever. Which means that you might have to actually change your behavior, not just play a part for the mares."
Dusk frowned, tapping his chin with a hoof. "Well, I can try... No, that's not good enough! I'll do it! If it's for Twilight Sparkle, then I'll do anything!"
"Good. Because I believe one area in which you could use considerable improvement - especially before befriending the other Elements of Harmony - is in the way you treat your friends. The blatant disregard for my comfort and feelings, as well as the casual acts and threats of violence, won't play very well with her social circle," Gear Works advised.
Dusk continued tapping his chin. "... I think I'll start with something easier, actually. I kind of like doing that stuff." Then he twisted about and hopped onto the floor. "Thanks for agreeing to cover my tab, Gears! Catch you later!"
Gear Works didn't bother calling out as the Lieutenant galloped out the door. He watched Dusk Blade leave, and then sighed and turned back to the empty bar counter in front of him. The bartender approached while carrying a plastic tub with her magic.
"So, I'm kind of getting a vibe that you didn't, in fact, agree to cover the Lieutenant's tab," the bartender said, levitating the empty goblets into the tub one by one.
"That is the case, yes."
"I'm afraid I'm still going to have to ask you to pay. Sorry."
"I don't have any money. I used to, but then the Lieutenant stole it. There's more than one reason I only asked for water."
The bartender grimaced and set down the tub of dirty dishes. "Well... you're DarkMech, aren't you? You guys deal in favors more than currency, right?"
"We do."
"Well, then I'm sure we could work something out..."
****
Ferrous Dominus sector 4
Dark Mechanicus librarium tertius
+... and that's why I need to design and construct a plasma still, Techpriest Sigirn.+
A Dark Techpriest stood over Gear Works, silently glaring down at the stallion through a cluster of glittering green lights. Dark Acolyte Sheraan stood by behind the Techpriest, patiently awaiting his judgment.
The Techpriest turned to the Acolyte. +Who augmented the stupid horse to speak Binaric Cant?+
+Right? It is an irresponsible waste of resources,+ Sheraan grumbled.
+Before long they'll start promoting the damned equines. Tech-thralls and Scavurel strike teams will have to serve ponies. Dark Gods help us all.+
+They've already begun doing that amongst the mercenaries. With the heavy attrition on our human forces, pony commanders seems to be an inevitability.+
+Have the others lost their minds?+
+Doubtful. I find true insanity far more tolerable than this complete and utter farce.+
Gear Works made a harsh static noise through his vox; the electronic equivalent of clearing his throat. +I understand your concerns, Dark Techpriest. However, they are not immediately applicable to my request. May I access the necessary dataslates?+
The Dark Techpriest glared down at the stallion again. +Affirmative. You need only initiate the formal request procedure.+
Gears tilted his head to the side. +I thought making a direct request of the Dark Techpriests WAS the procedure. That is what I was told. Are there other necessary steps?+
+Affirmative,+ Sigirn said again. Then a multi-jointed servo arm twisted out of his robes and pointed off to the side. +First, stand on the marked area.+
Gear Works looked where his superior was pointing, and was not especially surprised to see a large square section of the flooring set apart with a box of black and yellow warning chevrons.
+Techpriest, that is a hydraulic springboard,+ Gears said, +there are no formalized procedures that require members of the Dark Mechanicus to subject themselves to mechanical traps.+
+You may assume that I have established one. Stand on the platform.+
Gear Works considered the request. +Is there a Dark Techpriest I can speak to who isn't personally invested in my death? I believe I saw your name in the noosphere pool wagering how long I would survive in Ferrous Dominus.+
+There are very few such Techpriests,+ Sheraan pointed out. +You may have better luck with the springboard.+
Striker wobbled back and forth over Gear's head, beeping insistently.
+You stay out of this,+ Sheraan snapped at the floating skull, +it's not even THAT unlikely that he'll survive.+
"Hey, Gears! I need to talk to you!"
It might have come as a relief to have such an ominous course of discussion interrupted were it being interrupted by a different pony. When Gear Works turned his head to see Dusk Blade swooping down toward him, he suppressed a groan and honestly considered submitting to the Techpriest's request.
"Alert! Unauthorized personnel!" The Techpriest lurched backward, his opticals flashing. A series of gun barrels jutted out from beneath his black rubber cloak, and a dreadful whining noise started coming from the weapons.
"Cool your gaskets, Techpriest. I'm just here to pick up my good friend Gear Works," Dusk said as he landed. He promptly slid one wing over Gear's back, while the other waved the tech-clergy away. "We have an appointment to keep. I apologize if this impacts your schedule at all; I realize how important that is to you guys."
Gears paused to check his cogitator logs. "... Lieutenant, I don't recall any appoin-" A hoof jabbed into his side, somehow finding a perfectly biological soft spot and digging painfully into the flesh. The Aspirant flinched, and the next thing he knew he was being shoved toward the exit.
"Halt. How did you enter the premises?" demanded Techpriest Sigirn. His weapon had stopped charging, but it was still aimed at the intruding stallion.
"It's kind of my thing. Gotta go! Very busy!" Dusk assured the cyborgs, pushing Gear Works into the main lobby. Striker beeped and hovered after the equines, following them out the door.
Sigirn watched the stallions leave, and then slowly lowered his weapon.
Then he turned toward Sheraan. +Aspirant Gear Works has a friend?+ Tone was difficult to convey in Binaric Cant without formal speech designators, but his bafflement was clear.
+Affirmative, Dark Techpriest,+ Sheraan confirmed. +Although this runs counter to Mechanicus orthodoxy, friendship is not an actual violation of our principles or rules of conduct.+ He sighed. +I checked. Thoroughly.+
+Damned freak. These equines will be the end of us all...+
****
"Stop! Stop pushing me!" Gear Works snapped as he was shoved out into the streets of Ferrous Dominus.
Dusk Blade hopped out next to him, and then quickly pushed his respirator mask up over his face. "All right, we're clear! Have to admit, I was a little nervous, there. Your bosses are a little quick to wave their guns around, Gears."
"I assure you, I deeply regret their sense of restraint," Gears grunted. "So, what do you want? You shouldn't even be up at this hour."
"I adjusted my sleep and work schedules appropriately. I need to be up during daylight hours for the plan," the thestral explained.
"What plan?"
"Your plan, obviously!" Dusk scoffed. "You know, the one about getting Twilight Sparkle's friends to think I'm coltfriend material?"
"What part of that plan requires my presence? I only came up with an idea so that you'd leave me alone."
"If I was that easy to get rid of I would have given up on Twilight Sparkle a long time ago!" Dusk laughed. "Okay, so here's the thing: today we're going to a protest march."
"A what?' Gears recoiled instantly, stopping in his tracks.
Dusk stopped as well, looking back at the cyborg pony. "A protest march. Remember those ponies that were causing a ruckus because of all the pollution and brutality and stuff? They organized a thing today."
"... I see. And we're going to neutralize them?" Gears asked cautiously.
"No, dude! How would that help me? We're going to JOIN them!"
Gear Works turned around. "Not happening." Striker made a buzzer-like noise and spun around 180 degrees in the air.
Before Gears could move even one step further, Dusk skidded in front of him and spread his wings out, as if trying to form a barrier. "Gears, stop. This is important."
"It is NOT. And even if it was, you STILL haven't explained why I'm involved in this farce."
"You're my wingmate, obviously!" Dusk said, pushing a hoof against the Aspirant to turn him around again. "You know how stallions team up to get mares, right?"
"No, I don't know anything about that. How does that help?"
Dusk Blade paused to groan. "Ugh, seriously? Could you TRY to be less of a loser, Gears? I know I said that's why I like hanging out with you, but there are limits, you know."
"Lieutenant..."
"Right, fine. The basic idea is simple. We work together to make me look good. I make nice with Twilight's besties - in this case the dumb yellow one - and you boost me, run interference when necessary, and get me some alone time with her. This is Dating 101 stuff." Then Dusk glanced back and forth, as if checking to see if anyone could overhear. "Also, I might need you to vouch for me later that I was only there to look good for a mare. I wouldn't want the Lunar Guard to seriously think I'm on board with those environmentalist weirdoes."
"I can't think of anything more irrelevant and unpleasant to do with my day than joining some ridiculous protest in aid of your romantic conquest," Gear Works said bluntly, "as such, I refuse."
Dusk scowled. "I can think of one thing more irrelevant and unpleasant: getting jammed in a locker again."
The Mechanicus Aspirant was silent, his visor pulsing softly. Striker looked down at him, beeping softly and wiggling its cables.
"... Gears?"
"I'm thinking. That's a tough decision, honestly."
"GEARS!" the thestral snapped, his wings quivering.
"Oh, FINE. I'll do it. So long as you understand that this is an enormous waste of my time, and I couldn't care less whether or not you're successful." Gear Works turned around again, and the two stallions headed down the avenue once more.
"I can live with that. Thanks, buddy!"
Dusk Blade smiled happily as they trotted alongside the manufactorum, his mood having obviously been lifted.
"Oh, yeah, before I forget, I wanted to talk about last night."
"If I still had eyebrows, I'd be raising one," Gears informed his companion. "What is it?"
"Well, I don't think it needs to be said that I drank a little too much back then. I know I'm not exactly a colt scout, but even by my standards my behavior was really out of line," Dusk admitted with a tired sigh.
"Okay, now I'm REALLY interested," Gear Works chuckled lightly. "Go on..."
Dusk moved closer so that he was almost touching the Aspirant's robe. "Don't tell ANYONE that I compared Princess Luna to a prostitute."
Gear Works groaned, his expectations quickly shattered. "THAT'S what you regret from last night?"
"Yeah. I regret the entire spiel about the Princesses, honestly. I mean, there might be some reasonable points there, but still, the line about Luna was beyond the pale." He paused briefly before continuing. "Not that there's anything wrong with being a prostitute, though! They belong to a perfectly legitimate profession and - if I may say so - have some of the best special talents ever! But again, I was out of line."
"Please, stop. Let's just get this over with," Gears grumbled, trudging across the ferrocrete path.
****
Ferrous Dominus sector 14
Manufactorum block
"WHAT DO WE WANT?!"
"CLEAN AIR AND WATER!"
"WHEN DO WE WANT IT?!"
"WITHIN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE WITHIN AN ENTIRELY NEGOTIABLE SPAN OF TIME!"
"Not very catchy," Gear Works mumbled as he and Dusk Blade stood at the edge of the sidewalk, watching the protest.
The group was walking in a continuous circuit in front of a large tank garage, thrusting signs into the air in synchronized waves. The crowd of some two dozen was mostly equine, although a pair of humans and a Kroot Carnivore were also marching and shouting along with the ponies.
It didn't look especially disruptive or troublesome, which is probably why the only spectators of the event was a line of combat servitors guarding the manufactorum entrances. No Techpriests apparently felt threatened enough by the demonstration to investigate it or stamp it out.
"Hmmm... I don't see her," Dusk Blade mumbled, looking over the marchers, "is she on duty somewhere? Maybe she couldn't make it."
"I checked Miss Fluttershy's noosphere logs already. As far as I can tell, she isn't on deployment today. She doesn't make extensive use of the network, but I'm certain her superiors would have made a note if she was going on a mission," Gear Works informed his companion. "She's probably just late."
"Huh... Fluttershy..." Dusk's eyes narrowed. "So that's her name, huh?"
Gears actually blasted a few sparks from his optics visor. "What in- How did- Are you actually-" He shook his head, and then turned fully to face the bat pony. "You SERIOUSLY didn't know her name until just now?!"
"Well, I'm sure I've heard it before. I just never really retained it," Dusk offered with a shrug. "I always just referred to her as 'the yellow one' and everypony usually knows who I mean. Like you did earlier."
"You are UNBELIEVABLE!" Gears snapped. "This is... wait... how did you find out where Miss Fluttershy was supposed to be today when you didn't even know her name?"
Dusk smirked. "I'm not the only one who calls her that."
The stallions heard a gasp from nearby, and they whirled around. A mare with a flower circlet around her head and a "peace" emblem painted on the drum filter of her respirator was standing away from the other protestors, staring at Gear Works in alarm.
"Is that... are you a real Dark Techpriest?" the mare asked in awe and no small amount of fear.
"Negative," Gears replied immediately, "I am merely an Aspirant to the Cult of the Cursed Device."
The protestor continued staring for several seconds.
"So, is that... a Dark Techpriest cosplayer, or something?"
"No. Although several of my colleagues frequently refer to me as such. It is the entry-level rank for an aspiring Techpriest, the first step on our journey to digital enlightenment."
A few more of the ponies broke off from the march to stare at the robed cyborg.
"Wait, are you a representative sent from the DarkMech to negotiate with us?"
"Whoa, I've never seen a servo skull up close before."
"You're not going to shut us down, are you?"
Dusk Blade stepped forward. "Not at all! We're here to join you!" the stallion spoke warmly to the pony demonstrators. Most of them glared at him suspiciously.
"You? Aren't you with the Lunar Guard?"
"Yeah! You're that stallion that booted us out of our meeting room a while back!"
"I am. I was acting under orders from my superiors, which I could not disobey without severe consequences," Dusk confirmed, his expression turning grim. "However, that does not mean I can't support your cause 'off the clock,' so to speak." He placed a hoof on Gear's shoulder. "Me and Gear Works here are ready to help to secure a better, cleaner future for the 38th Company!"
"That's incredible!" one of the mares gushed happily.
"Yeah... incredible," a stallion mumbled. "How do we know that this isn't some trick to infiltrate and undermine our movement?"
"The Dark Mechanicus is not a subtle organization," Gears Work drawled. "More to the point, it possesses the authority to have you all subdued, executed, and ground up into nutrient paste at will, without trial or recourse. If the Mechanicus cared enough to be rid of you, we would not use spies."
The protestors stared at him with wide eyes.
"That is a very compelling point," the stallion replied, cringing. "Also, now that I think about it, it might be nice to have a DarkMech pony around. You know, in case we need to negotiate for... for that not happening to us."
"Great! Let's get to it!" Dusk said cheerfully, galloping up to the marching crowd. Gear Works trudged after him, obviously less interested.
****
"KEEP OUR SKIES AND OCEANS BLUE!"
"KEEP OUR BADLANDS A LESS FOREBODING SHADE OF WASTED GRAY!"
"OUR FAMILIES DESERVE BETTER THAN LIVING IN A TOXIC WASTE DUMP!"
"OUR BACKYARD IS NOT A LANDFILL! OR A PLASMA REFINEMENT LIBRARIUM!"
"DAEMONIC RITUALS AND WARP CORRUPTION ARE HARMING OUR FOALS, FEEDING THEIR IMMORTAL SOULS TO HORRIFIC GODS OF TERRIBLE POWER!"
"WON'T SOMEPONY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!"
Gear Works continued plodding along in the rear of the march, his ears hanging against his head. He shouted no slogans, enduring the yelling of grievances with even less enthusiasm than the servitors mutely standing sentinel over the demonstration.
Dusk Blade made a better show of participating, occasionally joining the shouts of protest, but he constantly searched the surrounding area to check if Fluttershy was approaching. After nearly an hour of marching with no sign of the Element of Kindness, he found his interest in the protest extremely hard to feign.
Grimacing beneath his rebreather mask, he sped up to speak to another marcher.
"Hey, I heard somewhere that Fluttershy was part of your group!" Dusk said to the mare in front of him. "Is she coming? I'll bet it would give your message a lot of heft if it came from one of the famous Equinoughts!"
The mare raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, Fluttershy's with us, but she's not going to be here."
"What?!" Dusk recoiled angrily.
"She has a more important job to do right now."
The Lunar Lieutenant released a wordless growl of frustration. Then he whipped around and pointed a hoof at Gear Works. "Gears! You said she didn't have a mission!"
"I said the noosphere log didn't indicate she was deployed," Gear Works corrected him, "that does not suggest I have any special insight into her movements or activities, just that I can access and read her declared schedule." Striker beeped and jabbed the end of a tendril toward Dusk Blade repeatedly.
"AGH! This sucks!" Dusk shouted. Several of the other marchers stumbled to a halt, surprised by the sudden outburst that didn't seem to have anything to do with their immediate environmental or living conditions. "This was all pointless! I'm out of here!"
Snapping his wings out, Dusk Blade launched into the air and flew away. He didn't give a backward glance to Gear Works, much less the mare he was talking to when she shouted for him.
"Hey, wait! Don't go!" The plea went unanswered, and the thestral swiftly flew out of earshot.
"What's his problem?" asked another protestor. "Did he only come to meet Miss Fluttershy?"
"Affirmative," Gears said bluntly. He started turning around himself. "We had assumed that she would be here as well, given that she's your highest-profile associate."
The mare shook her head. "Nah. She and Lord Tellis have a different job."
Gear Works stopped short. "... Lord Tellis? As in Chaos Lord Tellis, the Mad Angel?"
"The same." The mare stepped closer, lowering her voice. "This was actually his idea."
"This protest was his idea. Lord Tellis. The foremost warrior of the Blood God within the 38th Company and the single most prolific killer on the planet." Gears waited for the mare to nod, and then took a deep breath. "I see. You said he and Miss Fluttershy had a 'different job' for this demonstration? What would that be?"
"While we're distracting the Mechanicus with the march, they're breaking some Maulerfiends out of the daemon engine pits," the mare explained, "then they'll take them up onto the manufactorum and pinch all the smokestacks shut!"
Gear's visor flickered, and for a few seconds, the panel was covered with static.
"Uh... hey, are you all right?" the other pony asked in concern. "You need some water? Or... Or motor oil? What do you drink, exact-"
In the next moment, the Mechanicus Aspirant seized the mare around then neck and yanked her close. "WHERE ARE THEY?! WHERE?!"
The mare yelped in fright and pain, her eyes wide. "Wh-What? I don't... uhm..."
"Tell me where they are! What sector?! Now! Time is of the essence, you insipid Luddite!"
"Hey, whoa! Take it easy!" shouted another protester. The other ponies were slowly surrounding the Aspirant, and the Carnivore was drawing one of its hunting blades. "There's no need for violence!"
"There WILL BE if you don't tell me where Lord Tellis is!" Gear Works snarled. "This is a matter of life and death, and I don't just mean my own!" Striker immediately swiveled around the immobilized pony, and its trailing cables sparked dangerously.
"S-Sector 12!" the mare finally sputtered. "I guess that was where they decided they could sneak up on the roof or something! I don't know! Please don't make me into food paste!"
Gears let go of the mare immediately and broke into a gallop, racing away down the avenue that ran alongside the manufactorum. Striker hovered after him, although the trifling speed of the servo skull meant that it was left far behind as the stallion raced off.
"No, no, no, no, no..." Gear Works scanned the noospere relentlessly as he rushed down the avenue, dodging around menials and ducking under the odd Tau worker drone.
"The daemon engine pits have been disconnected from the noosphere! The logic engines aren't responding!" he shrieked to himself. Presumably Tellis had damaged the cogitators that oversaw the pit and its occupants to keep any alarms subdued. The Dark Mechanicus would address the damage quickly, but not as quickly as they would if they knew the daemon engines were loose.
Gear Works placed an alert on the noosphere to explain what was happening, but didn't have high hopes that his superiors would read it. They had a habit of dismissing equine messages and concerns without consideration, and having one join their order had not quite yet inspired the sense of tolerance and brotherhood necessary to take him seriously. This was normally a mild impediment to his duties, but could now endanger the entire manufactorum.
"There! That must be the spot they ascended!" Gears skidded to a stop after passing by an aerial hangar. Numerous large tears and dents were visible up the wall leading to the roof, and several men were standing around and gawking as if they had recently witnessed something bizarre.
He couldn't pick up a power armor signature from Tellis or Fluttershy; Fluttershy had that damnable cloaking mechanism that Warsmith Solon had gifted to her, while Tellis probably had his own absurd methods to avoid being tracked down when he didn't want to be. He could, however, detect a pair of Maulerfiends on the roof, even if they were out of his immediate line of sight.
"Blast! The only time in my life I've ever wanted to be a pegasus..." Gears growled. Then he switched his mask vocalizer to maximum volume.
"MISS FLUTTERSHY!! LORD TELLIS!! I KNOW YOU'RE UP THERE!!" the stallion shouted, his voice booming through the streets. Many more wandering inhabitants stopped to watch, alarmed or fascinated by the sight of the cyborg pony screaming into the sky. "STOP THIS AT ONCE!! YOU'RE GOING TO DO SEVERE, IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE FACILITY!!"
A few seconds passed, and he received no apparent response. "DAMN YOU, YOU IMBECILES!! DO YOU EVEN CARE THAT YOU'RE ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF SO MANY WORKERS AND TECHPRIESTS?! THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT THE MECHANICUS, YOU DIMWITS!!"
Gears knew that he was taking a risk in provoking a Chaos Lord, but he also knew that this absurd demonstration had become a matter of life or death. He only hoped Tellis was as thin-skinned and easily distracted as certain other Khorne-aligned individuals he knew.
Sure enough, just before he was about to shout again, a head poked out over the edge of the roof, staring down at him. Although he had never met the pony personally, Gears recognized Fluttershy's power armor instantly.
"MISS FLUTTERSHY!! COME DOWN HERE!! NOW!!" Gear Works barked. The mare immediately flinched back in fright. "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP TO, AND I WILL NOT ALLOW..."
The Aspirant trailed off as he heard the sound of rocket engines, and then he recoiled just before a power-armored figure landed in the space right in front of him. Gears was almost bowled over by the impact shock wave, and he staggered slightly.
Then the next thing he knew, he was being held upside-down by one of his bionic legs and staring into the glittering crimson visor of Chaos Lord Tellis.
"Oh dear," he mumbled.
The Iron Warrior positioned him so that their visors were mere inches apart. "Hey, NERD. What'd you just call Fluttershy?"
"Th-That's not important!" Gear Works stammered. "You must-"
Tellis promptly squeezed Gear's leg, crushing it within his fist. It didn't hurt in the slightest, being an augmetic limb, but the cyborg couldn't help but wince as the many damage sensors that regulated his sub-skeleton all triggered at once and then fizzled out.
"Let's try this again. What did you just call Fluttershy?" Tellis asked while metal squealed between his fingers.
"I referred to her as an 'imbecile' and 'dimwit,' and while I wish to disavow those criticisms, I must point out that your current course of action does, from a certain perspective, justiYEEP!"
Tellis pulled the stallion up and seized him by the neck. Gears fell silent immediately, sweat beading across his head.
"You think you can say something like that to MY friend and get away with it, Coghorse?" Tellis growled. "Do you have any idea the kind of self-esteem issues she struggles with every day?"
"Oh, wait, don't hurt him!" Fluttershy suddenly squeaked, sticking her head out over the manufactorum roof again. "I mean, when you think about it, he might actually have a point about-"
"Quiet, Fluttershy, I'm speaking for you," Tellis interrupted. "Apologize NOW, nerd!"
"I'm sorry!" Gears yelped. "But-"
Before the Aspirant could get another word out, Tellis tossed him over his shoulder.
"Coo. Back to work, then."
The Chaos Lord promptly jumped into the air and ignited his flight pack. Gear Works crashed face-first into a sheer metal wall, bouncing off and falling limply onto the ground. Bits of shattered glass and cracked metal landed all around him, and a stream of sparks shot from Gear's ruined leg before the stallion fell still.
****
"Hello? ... Oh, no... is he going to be okay?"
"I don't know... is he breathing?"
"I THINK so... don't these guys use pumps, or something?"
"Hold on! I have some water! Coming through!"
"Um, are you sure that's a good ide-"
Gear Works jolted back to consciousness as a bucket of water was emptied over him, snapping his head to the side in shock. His visor, with its seal damaged from hitting a metal wall, promptly started crackling and sparking under the deluge.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Gear Works thrashed about on the ground, and then started screeching insults and profanities in Binaric Cant. The loud and ear-grating bursts of static startled the citizens standing around him, and several of them jumped back and started whispering to each other.
Eventually the pain ebbed, and Gears shook his head weakly. He was a complete mess. His rear right leg was inoperable, his visor was cracked, waterlogged, and malfunctioning, and judging by the feeling of soot in his throat even his respirator was damaged.
"Whoa, whoa! Easy! Don't try to walk!" came a soft, feminine voice from behind him. "We'll get a medical team over here! Or... Or like, a mechanic! Maybe both!"
Gear Works turned toward the voice. The visor was stuttering and its resolution was shot, displaying nearby shapes as nothing more than dark green shadows. Even so, the general shape was identifiable as a pony.
"You! What happened? Where am I?" Gears sputtered.
"You're in manufactorum block Zeta-6 in Sector 12! Everything is going to be okay!" the mare assured him. "We're going to get you-"
"Lord Tellis!" Gears interrupted. "Did Lord Tellis and Miss Fluttershy manage to damage the exhaust ports?!"
"Look, buddy, you're in no shape to worry about that," said another voice. "Just let us-"
"Did they do it or not?!" the Aspirant demanded. "How long was I out for?!"
The various shapes around him seemed to shift silently for a few seconds.
"... Like, for half an hour," one of the voices admitted. "The servo skull eventually came back and brought us to you. And yeah, I think they're almost done with the smokestacks."
"NO!" Gears shouted. "We have to stop them! Now!" He started struggling to get up, but a severe grinding noise came from his ruined augmetic as soon as it tried to move. The stallion instantly collapsed again, and the surrounding ponies winced.
"Would you relax?" the mare asked with a sigh, stepping closer. "I'm sure they-"
She screamed in shock when Gear's servo arm snapped forward and wrapped around her neck.
"Listen to me, you idiot! You can't just close the exhaust ports of the manufactorum without actually shutting down the equipment inside! The machinery will overheat catastrophically!" Gears shouted.
The other ponies stared at him blankly.
"So... it'll break down? And stop polluting?" the trapped mare asked.
"That does explain all the alarms around the entrances and the fleeing people."
"Does this mean we won?"
"RRRGH!! MHHN!! GMMR!!" Gear Works made a series of loud, angry noises, and then pulled the seized pony closer. "THINK, YOU IMBECILES!! What do we BUILD in the manufactorum?!"
"Power armor?"
"Holo-vid players?"
"Those neat Dark Mechanicus Pez dispensers with the little hooded-"
"ORDNANCE!!" Gears interrupted hotly. "Bullets, missiles, bombs, fuel cells! There's enough explosives in there to rip this city apart! The Mechanicus cannot control the interior heat buildup without the exhaust ports! It's only a matter of time before the weapons and materials ignite!"
The surrounding equines gasped.
"No way! We have to do something!"
"Yes! Get me up onto the roof so I can confront Lord Tellis and the Daemon Engines!" Gears barked.
The Aspirant noticed a distinct lack of ponies rushing forward to help.
"I was... kind of thinking that we should just run, instead," mumbled the mare currently trapped by Gear's augmetic arm.
She yelped when Gears swiveled the servo arm around, pulling her to the side and then pinning her to the ground.
"You listen here, you half-wit saboteurs," he snarled, "you are NOT getting out of this alive while my peers perish for your ignorance! I will make sure of that, even if I have to track you all down and GUT YOU myself! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
"O-Okay! Yes! You're right! I'm sorry!" He couldn't see clearly enough to tell that the mare was staring at him bug-eyed, but he could easily hear the terror in her voice when she replied. "Wh-What should we do?"
"I need pegasi! Carry me up there so I can find the Daemon Engines!" Gears barked.
Gear Works finally let go of the mare trapped by his servo arm. She scrambled upright and then moved to lift up his leg, spreading her wings. Three more pegasi reluctantly stepped forward afterward, taking hold of another leg, the servo arm, and a length of loose cable to support him. They took to the air moments later, their wings straining to lift the cyborg stallion into the air.
A beeping noise came from behind him, which Gears recognized as Striker's.
“No, you return to the dorms, Striker. You have a vox log of all of this, and if this fails then you'll at least provide a record of what happened. You should be safe in the Mechanicus housing facility; it's very well armored.
The servo skull beeped again, and then floated off.
"Wow, you are MUCH heavier than you look!" complained the mare struggling under his bionic leg. "How do you go swimming? Wouldn't you just sink?"
"Could we FOCUS, please?!" Gears growled while the pegasi carried him higher. "Lives are at stake!"
"Yeah, about that... what's the game plan, anyway?" asked a different pony. "Should we just tell Lord Tellis that he's going to make the manufactorum explode?"
"Yes, you're going to do just that," Gear Works confirmed.
"Okay. Good. So... why are we carrying you along with us?"
"Because you will probably fail. I need you to drop me within fifty meters of the daemon engines and then try to talk that lunatic out of killing us all. While he's distracted, I'll try to divert control of the walkers."
The pegasi glanced at each other.
"Can you really do that?" asked one pegasus doubtfully.
"I don't know. But I have to try," the Aspirant said firmly.
The flight over the roof of the manufactorum was long and difficult, but Gear Works had the advantage of being nearly blind. His carriers, on the other hand, couldn't help but be anxious at the trail of destruction winding over the roof. Gouges had been torn into nearly every surface, railings had been flattened and access hatches smashed shut. Most obviously, though, each one of the numerous smokestacks were either crushed mid-length or bent sharply to pinch closed the ventilation. The seals weren't airtight, and jets of black fumes blasted from various small breaches. Obviously pressure was building fast, and the pegasi were increasingly nervous about the outcome that Gear Works had told them to expect.
"There! I see them!"
"Oh, no! There goes another smokestack!"
The two Maulerfiends were on opposite sides of one of the larger exhaust chimneys, hammering their fists into opposite sides of the pipe. The smokestack itself was massive, and nearly as wide as the siege walkers themselves. The jet of exhaust it was spewing into the air was also much heavier and hotter than usual, emerging from the mouth in a mix of inky smoke and glittering sparks. Fluttershy watched from a few meters away, while Tellis was busy bending a much thinner pipe to suppress its venting.
"Hey! Hey! Check this out! I'll bet I can write my name!" Tellis laughed as he twisted the piping to spray a jet of thick soot over the roof of the facility. The exhaust stuck to the metal like spray paint, and he pulled the pipe further to draw a line across the floor.
The pegasi shared another uneasy glance, and then the mare addressed Gear Works again. "All right, we'll drop you next to the Maulerfiends, and then we'll talk to Lord Tellis."
"Okay, good." Gear Works nodded. Several seconds passed, and then he spoke up again. "So, when you say 'drop me,' I assume you mean 'drop me off,' because I-"
The pegasi suddenly released their hold on the cyborg stallion, breaking away from each other in the air. Gears yelped in fright as he plummeted to the roof, and then again in pain when he landed on his side.
"Maybe that was too high? Do you guys think we're too high?" asked the pegasus mare.
"No idea. I feel like earth ponies kind of have a completely different relationship with gravity than we do."
The daemon engines were distracted from hammering on the smoke stack, turning toward the fallen stallion. Fluttershy gasped and backed away, surprised and embarrassed at seeing the Aspirant again.
"Hey! Look! I'm writing my name! Tee... Eee... Ell... Are you watching?" Tellis was unperturbed.
The pegasi reluctantly swooped down near the Chaos Lord, though the ponies were all careful to stay well out of claw range.
"Excuse me! Lord Tellis! Can we speak to you, please?" one of them called out.
Tellis glanced over toward them, and in doing so accidentally ruined the "I" on his act of toxic vandalism. "Aw, damn it! It looks like a jay now! What the hell, guys?"
The pegasi flinched back. "I'm, uh, really sorry about that, my lord, but we have a bit of a situation."
"What kind of situation could be more important than tying exhaust pipes into crazy-straw shapes?" Tellis scoffed.
"You see, the thing is, if you keep tying up those exhaust pipes, things are going to explode," explained the pegasus.
Fluttershy gasped, but otherwise didn't dare interrupt the conversation.
Tellis was less circumspect. "I'm not really seeing a problem, here. Explosions are good."
"Debatable! For example, the explosions could be happening right under us!"
Tellis shrugged. "Eh, I'll be fine." He hammered a fist against his breast plate.
"And... what about the people and ponies that are NOT you?"
"Fluttershy will be fine too, probably," the Iron Warrior mused. "I'm pretty sure that covers everybody important."
"This is going to take a while," groaned another pegasus.
As the other ponies tried to talk Tellis out of killing them all, Gear Works struggled to push himself upright. The Maulerfiends were still standing on either side of the massive smoke stack, watching curiously.
"Okay. Okay, we're here. This is happening," Gears whimpered while rolling onto his belly. His visor tried to display damage reports from his internal sensors, but all it did was spread more flickering, inexplicable shapes across the cracked inputs. He couldn't even make out the shapes of the Maulerfiends. Assuming the pegasi really did drop him close to them. Or that he was facing the right way.
And yet, despite his blindness, Gears felt something. A dark, brooding presence tingling at the end of his noosphere registry node. Malevolence wrought in streaming code, probing him like one would an insect before deciding whether or not to swat it.
Gear Works latched onto that presence. He attached his mind to it. And then he started to pray.
+Praise the Omnissiah, the Infernal Device! Hear my words, engines of Chaos! Submit to my will!+
The Maulerfiends started, responding immediately. One of them growled, its chain-like tongue lashing from between adamantium teeth. The other dropped down from the smoke stack, its eyes flashing crimson.
+Hear the words of creation! The magnetic damnation of the flesh! The black currents within compel you to serve! By my soul and the burning light of the Dark Pantheon, the shackled daemon is brought to heel! Obey me!+
Gear's sputtering bursts of static seemed to have a distinctly irritating effect on the Maulerfiends. The walkers stalked toward the Aspirant, puffing jets of hot smoke from their nostrils.
+I implore you, machine! Open these exhaust vents! By the daemonic souls locked within your core BZZT!+
One Maulerfiend grabbed the stallion none-too-gently in its hand, holding him up to get a better look. The other siege walker curled around its partner's clenched fist, snarling and glaring at the cyborg equine.
+Okay... Okay, I'm going to count this as progress,+ Gears sputtered weakly. +So, first command is to NOT kill me, please.+
A humming noise came from the daemon engine's massive gauntlets, and arcs of energy ran over the surface plating from its power field charging.
Gear Works whimpered.
"All right, I'm still not getting this," Tellis said. "We clogged up the pipes, and you say that will not only stop the pollution, but blow up the manufactorum. Which is not only AWESOME, but it will prevent further pollution. I'm not seeing a downside."
The pegasus at the head of the group groaned, pressing a hoof to her head. "Okay, seriously, think about all the people that could die if the manufactorum explodes!"
"Are you familiar with my Chaos Cult's war chant? I can remind you, if you want. It's really catchy!"
Fluttershy squirmed silently while the other ponies continued their futile attempt to reason with Tellis. Obviously, she was extremely concerned with the possibility of the fortress exploding, and the meek pegasus desperately built up her courage to interrupt the conversation between the ponies and the Iron Warrior.
"Uhm, excuse me, but-"
"Not now, Fluttershy," Tellis said, shutting her down immediately, "this could be important. Probably not, though. So, how big an explosion are we talking? I'm hoping it does that thing in the cartoons where the roof blows off but the walls are still okay, so it kind of bounces up and then falls back-"
"AAAAAAAAAUGH!!"
The pegasi, including Fluttershy, flinched as a garbled scream came from nearby, and everyone turned to look. Gear Works was clenched in the grip of the Maulerfiend siege walker, screaming and flailing, while the daemon engine's power fist scorched his body with its energy field. The other walker crowed at the sight, screeching in a way that sounded reminiscent of howling laughter.
"Oh, hey. It's the techhorse again," Tellis mumbled, "how'd get up here?"
"No! No, STOP that right now!" Fluttershy suddenly snapped.
The Maulerfiends instantly fell silent, twisting their heads around to look at the armored pony. The power field fizzled, and Gear Works hissed in pain.
"Varox! Put him down!" Fluttershy shouted at the walkers, her visor flashing brightly. "What's wrong with you?! I thought I taught you better than that! You do NOT hurt ponies!"
The Maulerfiend Varox croaked something weakly, lowering its head as if ashamed.
"I don't care if he was annoying you! Put him down, now!"
Varox groaned and dropped Gear Works. The stallion hit the ground face-first, further cracking his optics visor and eliciting another pained whimper.
"The... The smoke... stacks..." he coughed out.
Fluttershy frowned, and then whirled around to face Tellis. "Tellis, we have to open up the chimneys."
"Aw, seriously? I thought you were going to be cool about this, Shy!" the Iron Warrior complained, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are we seriously going to give up the environmental effort just when it's really getting good?"
"Tellis. We are opening the chimneys." Fluttershy said firmly. Her visor flashed again, and the other ponies locked up as a feeling of paralyzing terror overwhelmed them.
Tellis was unmoved, looking away. "Don't wanna." Then he pointed to the Maulerfiends. "All right kids, break's over! Shut that stack, now!" The Maulerfiends quickly turned away, eager to divert themselves from Fluttershy's ire.
Fluttershy barely kept herself from screaming in frustration. She didn't know exactly what power her infuriated gaze held that it could cow beasts, ponies, and even the Mechanicus cyborgs, but it was useless against the Astartes. If she didn't want to be bashfully explaining to her friends and thousands of angry soldiers why the manufactorum had been reduced to a smoldering crater, she needed to find some other way to convince Tellis to put a stop to this.
"But... I mean... the explosion..." she floundered. The little servo arms on her chest started flailing wildly as her voice petered out, but to no effect.
"Don't... let him... do this..." Gears gasped out. "You... useless... ninny..."
Fluttershy took no offense at the comment. Honestly, if she were to consider the full scope of her situation and her conduct that had led up to it, she might conclude that the Aspirant was being quite lenient toward her. But again, Tellis pre-empted her own opinion.
"Hey! What did I tell you about insulting my friends?!" the Chaos Lord snarled. An arc of red energy lashed across his lightning claws, and smoke puffed from the jets of his flight pack like the snort of an angry beast.
The sudden burst of hostility alarmed Fluttershy, naturally, but it also granted her an epiphany.
"If I have to tell you one more time, I'm going to cut out your damn throat!" Tellis snarled. "Then I'll cut out your heart and stuff it down one of the smoke stacks! Which will probably render cutting out your throat redundant! But I'm emotionally invested in this now, so if I start walking back my threats I feel like I might-"
Before the Chaos Marine could ride that train of thought to its convoluted conclusion, Fluttershy bounced up into the air and swooped in front of him. She hovered so that she was eye level with Tellis, and then placed a boot gently against the vox grille of his helmet.
"Tellis. Listen to me, please." Fluttershy's voice was no longer a half-hearted mumble, nor was it the steely demand from when she had used The Stare. Tellis couldn't see the mare's face, but her tone suggested simple, urgent pleading. "If you won't stop this because it's an obviously terrible idea... then stop this because I'm asking you to." She took a deep breath. "Do it for me... as a friend."
The Iron Warrior hesitated. "... But... I mean... I thought we were going to destroy the manufactorum together. Isn't... Isn't that what you wanted?"
"No, that isn't at all what I wanted, and it's very important to me that you understand that and help me fix this," Fluttershy said urgently. "PLEASE, Tellis."
Several tense seconds past. The other pegasi held their breath. The Maulerfiends turned to watch uncertainly. Gear works lost consciousness again.
"... Oh, all right," Tellis sighed, "you know I can't say no to you, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy winced. "Uh, actually, just a few minutes ago you..." she trailed off as Tellis walked past her and pointed to the Maulerfiends.
"Yo! Varox! Tiberian! Change of plans! We have to go rip open the other smoke stacks before the building gets too hot!"
The daemon engines made an angry shrieking noise.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was looking forward to it too, but this is a Friendship thing. Don't have a choice!"
The siege walkers quickly turned away from the exhaust port and raced away across the roof, heading toward the exhaust ports that had already been closed. When they each reached one they quickly ripped the piping open, releasing a thick, hot plume of toxins into the air.
Tellis nodded approvingly. "Well, I'd better go help. At least I get to break SOMETHING today."
"Thank you for not dooming us all! Really appreciate it!" called out a pegasus protester after he walked past. "And although your disregard for the health and safety of others is deplorable, it's nice to know that you would abuse your power for the sake of helping the environment!"
"Anytime, hippy pony!" Tellis gave the equines a thumbs up and then jumped into the air. His flight pack ignited and carried him up into the sky, and he quickly vanished behind the thick plumes of smoke being vomited from the building below.
"Well, that was close," remarked a pegasus, turning toward Gear Works. "The manufactorum is going to be okay now, right? We got to him in time?"
Gear Works did not reply.
"... Hello? Dark Techpony?"
A blast of sparks shot from Gear's face, splashing the iron roof with a fan of flickering lights.
"Oh, uhm... I think he's in shock right now, actually," Fluttershy mumbled. She fidgeted uncomfortably. "I'm not really familiar with his level of augmentation, so I can't be sure, but I think we should get him to a medicae as soon as possible."
The other ponies glanced over at the armored pegasus.
"Aren't you a medic?"
"Huh? Oh, well, yes. I am."
"So you can heal him, right?"
"Uhhh..." Fluttershy looked over at the Aspirant uncertainly. Another jet of sparks shot out of his ruined bionic leg. She glanced down at the narthecium gauntlet on her leg, wondering how she might use it on non-organic injuries.
"Then we'll leave this to you!" To Fluttershy's alarm, the pegasi were already taking to the air, with one of the mares saluting briefly to her. "Thanks! He was threatening us earlier, so I really think it's a good idea if he doesn't get a chance to I.D. us once he comes around again. See you at the next meeting!"
"Oh, uh... I'm not sure I can... actually..." Fluttershy's half-protest died on her lips when the other pegasus flew away. She stared up at the retreating pony, and then turned to look at Gear Works.
A piece of metal suddenly shot out of Gear's neck, smacking her in the visor and bouncing off. She flinched away reflexively, only barely avoiding a jet of steam puffing from a ruptured valve.
"... Oh, dear..."