Field work
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Chapter 6: Field work
Three months later - Wreck of Brawler Yukon
Twilight stalked through the interior of Yukon Brawler, Spike close at her heels. She ruffled her wings, loosening a flurry of icicles from her feathers. ‘Maybe I should wear some of those wing mittens.’ she thought sourly, eyeing an engineer who was busy examining a circuit board with a pair of the woollen mittens draped over her wings. It had been months before their first breakthrough. Months of weather cold enough to cause most of the expedition's equipment simply stop working, months of tasteless rations and months of setbacks as some vital part of the research either hit a dead end or froze up completely due to equipment failure. Now though, they’d finally found something they could use.
The long tenure was starting to irritate her. The cold and atrocious weather continually hampered their efforts to uncover the inner workings of the alien war machine and the constant attention the small team Twilight was in charge of was starting to try her patience.
“I’m not sure how much more I can take of this, Spike.” Twilight grumbled, clambering through an open bulkhead and loosening a small chunk of ice from the ceiling.
“Tell me about it. Next time Lean Cuisine is on mess duty, I’m finding my own food.” Spike muttered. The small dragon had been invaluable to Twilight, both as a friend and an assistant. He’d coped with the persistent cold the best of anypony courtesy of his thick skin and inner fire, but even he was starting to get tired of the appalling conditions.
“Well it’s a 30 kay walk to Stonefall and I don’t think the Major will let us borrow her airship.” Twilight said darkly. Their supply ship, Rogue Two, was either under covers with some new engine problem or running back and forth between the base camp and the town for supplies. With nearly 800 mouths to feed, the airship’s crew had their work well and truly cut out for them.
“Thirty kays huh, through biting winds, freezing snow and ice with no navigation references other than the moon, which you can’t even see?” Spike asked, pausing briefly for dramatic effect. “I’d take that chance over his cooking any day.”
Twilight stifled a smile and crawled through the tunnel which led up to the Jaeger’s head. She and Dr. Daze had made a considerable discovery in the workings of the machines controls and had prepared a presentation for the two senior Wonderbolts in charge of the rabble rooting through the machine. She trotted briskly up the tunnel, the loud sound of her hooves echoing against the metal drowning out the much quieter sounds of Spike’s claws pattering against the floor. She emerged from the service entrance and looked around the conpod. Since the expedition had moved in, Twilight had taken up a somewhat permanent residence in the machine’s head; preferring the wide open space it provided compared to the cramped confines of the machine’s hull or a prefabricated hut. Hundreds of cables snaked across the floor and nearly every possible surface was covered in some assortment of machinery, both alien and pony-made. One of the harnesses hung from the ceiling, its companion had long been taken down and disassembled for study.
“Ah, Twilight, you’re here.” Dr Daze said cheerfully, stepping out from behind a drawing board. Unlike the rest of the expedition, the strange unicorn seemed to savour the frozen conditions, calling it ‘the most invigorating experience he’d had in years.’
Naturally, most of the other ponies he worked with called him insane.
“I didn’t expect to see you here so soon.” Twilight remarked.
“Well it turns out the Bra-Washer couldn’t go on a supply run, weather isn’t good enough. Fly boys are stuck here and they’re so excited to hear what we hav’ ter say.” He said quickly, pulling the drawing board aside to reveal the considerably less than excited faces of Misty Fly and Lightning Streak.
“He told us you had made a breakthrough.” Misty Fly said boredly.
“We have.” Twilight said briskly, trotting over to her workbench and levitating a piece of the disassembled harness into the air. “We figured out the control system.”
The two Wonderbolt’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “That’s quite a considerable achievement.” Misty said, a hint of respect finding its way into in her voice.
“Thank you.” Twilight said with a curt nod. “It wasn’t easy and there’s still a lot that we don’t know, but we’re confident that we understand how the machines are piloted.” She paused. “The first part is the harnesses. They’re hooked into the Jaeger itself, securing the pilots in place. They have a great freedom of movement though, which allows the pilots to take sudden and violent forces without being turned to mush. The suits they wear may also have some impact on this but I can’t comment on that as we don’t have one to study.” She dropped the harness piece back onto the table and walked around the room to the one still hanging from the roof. “While they might seem to actually be fairly important in the drive process they aren't, the real control system is something their computer refers to as a ‘Pons’. It allows the two pilots to control the machine together… with their minds” She added excitedly.
Misty Fly looked at the harness cautiously and shared a dubious look with her older brother. “Alright, quick question. Why two pilots, why not just one?”
Rainy Daze’s eyes lit up. “What a good question, good thing I’ve gotta answer fer yoo. I’ll keep it sumple so yoo don’t end up scratching yer wee head, ya sorry excuse for an armchair general.”
“Enough with the smack talk.” Misty growled.
“Right yoo are. I’ll start with yoo Captain because yer haven’t tried bitin’ me head off yet. Alright, think of a song.”
“Uh… Party of One. Your point?” Lightning Streak asked dubiously.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself…" The old unicron chided. "Now sing the song in yer head. Then, I want yer ter list the governors of Canterlot… backwards. At the same time.” He added for clarification.
“I can’t do that.” Lightning Streak protested.
“And that’s why there’s two of ‘em.” Rainy Daze said triumphantly before grinning nervously. “Well, that’s my best guess at least. They need two of ‘em cause it’s too much for one person to handle at once. If I asked the Major here to sing the song in her head while you list the governors off, it’d be dead easy wouldn’t it? I’d imagine piloting a massive machine like this woold be quite difficult, both mentally and physically.”
“Suppose so.” Lightning Streak admitted. “What would happen if you piloted it by yourself?”
“Dunno, how aboot you try it yourself and find out?’ Rainy Daze said. “I’d imagine though, the neural load would either do anything from give you a mighty big headache through to turning yer brain to something yoo’d find in be in a sewp can.”
“Uh… I’ll pass.” Lightning Streak said wisely.
“Alright, but how does this get us closer to actually having anything to show for your work?” Misty Fly asked.
“Oh that part’s easy. All yer need is a way ter pick up yer brain signals, an interface if yer will. Two of ‘em actually. A processor of sorts so the machine can merge it together and make sense of the data and then finally, an output so yer actions do something.”
“If it’s so simple, why haven’t you made one?” She said deadpan.
“I’m a neurologist you stupid mick, not an engineer. I wouldn’t have a cloo how to build somethin’ like that. This is an interface between a machine and your mind, that’s no Sunday picnic.”
“But luckily, I do. Or at least I think I do.” Twilight cut in. “The good doctor had to help with the specifics regarding the actual neural pickups… but it should work.” Twilight said, leading the military ponies around to another work area nestled at the back of the conpod and uncovering a large mess of cables and computer components she'd cobbled. The resulting construction was about twice as high as a pony stood and three times as long. “Thankfully the robot’s own system was mostly intact so I didn’t have to start from scratch. I did have to reconfigure and recalibrate a fair bit though… so really its anypony’s guess what’ll happen when I turn it on.
Misty Fly examined the crude pons system with barely restrained curiosity. “How does it work? I mean, how does it make your thoughts take control over a machine?”
“Thoughts in your brain are little more than electric pulses.” Twilight explained slowly. “The computer should be able to interpret them into information. At the moment though, it’s hooked up to data drives for storage and analysis. We don’t have a giant robot we can test it on obviously.”
“What about the one we’re currently rooting through?” Lightning Streak pointed out dryly.
“A complete write off. Many of its systems are beyond our ability to repair and we’d be better off building a new one that better matches our physiology. I’m guessing you want to build one, right?” Twilight asked, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. While nopony had said anything yet, it was becoming increasingly obvious that something a bit more than just research was the intention for the wreck. She felt a pang of annoyance creep up in her chest, why hadn’t Celestia just told her what she was planning? Why leave her out of the loop for so long? She was a princess too, damn it!
“Any reason why?” Misty Fly asked, brushing away Twilight’s question off with well-practiced ease.
“Well both of the alien machines roughly match their own body shape. There might be some reason for that. Moral would no doubt be one of them.” Twilight said coolly, her irritation fading away once more.
“A fair point.” Misty admitted.
“Good.” Twilight beamed, pleased that her analysis had been accepted. “I would suggest we try and remove one of the robot’s legs and move it a more industrialised location. Its leg structure is remarkably similar to our own and with an actual lab, we might be able to learn more about it with proper equipment… or fabricate one even.”
Misty Fly and Lightning Streak shared a look. “This is supposed to be a secret operation.” She said warily. “If we take that thing’s leg off and try to move it somewhere I think somepony might notice.” The Wonderbolt said sarcastically.
Twilight huffed irately. “Well we can’t do much out here. Firstly, it’s on the middle of nowhere with access to only the most rudimentary of gear. Secondly, there’s no industrial capacity to build or study something of this size here either. A few cities along the eastern seaboard like... uh... Manehatten might have the manufacturing power to do so though.”
The two officers nodded slowly. “In the meantime, is there any chance that we could test your system?” Misty Fly asked.
“That’s where we have a problem.” Twilight said cautiously. “We know how it works… mechanically at least. But that’s it, how it’d work in practice…” She trailed off uneasily with a feeble shrug.
“Explain it like I was five.” Lightning Streak said. He stole another quick look at the curious device. Most of the components seemed to be salvaged from the alien robot rather than from their own supplies which lent the device a strange, hybrid look.
“What she means is that we don’t really knoo what’s gonna happen when you strap two plebs like yerself to it and turn it on.”
“Didn’t you say it was some sort of mind-impulse control thingy? Brain signals passing commands through to a machine or something?”
Twilight nodded, at least their lecture hadn’t fallen on deaf ears. “But it’s a two-way street… the information flows both ways.”
“So…?” Misty fly said, gesturing impatiently.
“Yoo’d effectively be inside the other pony’s head.” Rainy Daze said bluntly. “Two minds meldin' into one to control a giant machine. Imagine if she could see everything yoo knew and yoo could see everything she knew. All in here!” He exclaimed excitedly, rapping on the side of his head. “All that emotion, feeling, instinct! Everythin'!”
Lightning Streak glanced at his sister. “I’m not sure if I’d be entirely comfortable with that…”
“Which raises more questions, what happens if one of the… eh, participants isn’t comfortable with the other pony in their head? Tries to protect their own thoughts and locks the other one out? You need two ponies that not only have the stamina to run the machine but also trust the other pilot enough to let them into their most precious memories and feelings.” Twilight explained. She remembered that the two aliens were brothers; maybe that helped things? She trailed off briefly and thought about her friends. How happy would she be with them in her mind? Even with such a close bond to them she still felt a little discomforted by the idea.
Misty poked her nose into the crude system again, taking in all the small details and intricate wiring that presumably allowed the machine to run smoothly. It seemed overly complicated for what she’d just been described. Then again, considering how trivial her knowledge of the system was, she wasn’t really one to comment.
“Hook us up.” She ordered.
“What?!” Lightning Streak yelped. “Surely you can’t be serious? Didn’t you just hear the two of them just say there’s too much they don’t know?”
“Well there’s only one way to find out isn't there?” Misty said coolly. “Hook us in.” She ordered again.
Twilight blinked in surprise. “Are you sure? I mean, there’s so much more research, refinement and testing that needs to go into it before it’s ready for a test. As we just said, we don’t know what’ll happen to you when we hook you up and turn it on.”
“Just do it.” The Wonderbolt ordered gruffly. “You want your nice warm city? You’ll have a lot more chance convincing the Princess if you have something that actually works.”
“If you insist…” Twilight said hesitantly. She fished out a bundle of electrodes from the bundles of cables and with Rainy Daze’s assistance, affixed them around the Wonderbolt’s head. They repeated the process on a slightly less willing Lightning Streak.
“Can you at least tell us what we might expect?” He asked as Twilight slapped one onto his forehead with unrestrained gusto.
“Not really, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t die so you could tell me.” Twilight said with fresh enthusiasm.
“Uh, what?” He said nervously.
“Shock leading to cardiac arrest is a possibility lad.” Dr Daze said nonchalantly. “Making one consciousness out of two ain’t exactly natural yer knoo.”
Lightning Streak gulped.
Twilight slapped the last electrode in place and double checked the connections running from the Wonderbolts head’s back to the computer. She quickly skimmed over the machine to ensure all the wires were plugged in where they were supposed to be and that all the appropriate switches were flicked on. Lastly, she took a small control pad and took a few large steps back. “Alright, pony-to-pony mind bridge experiment is ready. Data is being recorded, we’re going live in 5…” Twilight’s announced, her hoof hovering over a large red button. “4…”
“This will only end in tears, I’m sure of it.” Lightning Streak mumbled.
“3… 2…”
Lightning Streak squeezed his eyes shut.
“1…”
Click!
He opened an eye cautiously, had it worked?
“That… that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Twilight muttered, restraining herself from pressing the button again. The machine buzzed feebly but the two Wonderbolts hooked into the device seemed unaffected.
“Have you tried turning it off then back on again?” Misty Fly drawled sarcastically. Lightning Streak was about to make a follow up remark when a massive jet of sparks shot out of the back of the machine and the world turned blue.
Mum and dad were taking them to the park, Misty was running ahead, screaming and shouting excitedly. their father warned her not to run to far ahead but she didn’t listen… a gap in the cloud cover emerged out of nowhere and Misty fell down, her tiny wings beating uselessly… she screamed in fear…
She was falling…
He could feel the fear of another consciousness, as if he were two beings in the one body. He could feel its fear, its terror as if it were its own. It was like a tidal wave of raw emotion hammering at his mind. He wanted to escape, to hide… but he couldn’t, because he was 3000 feet up and falling…
The wave of blue light vanished and reality snapped back into place. The consciousness that he pressed against his own was gone, replaced by a sudden sensation to fall over and pass out. He sat down, panting heavily. Lightning Streak looked over at his sister, she seemed to be in a worse shape than he was. She was sweating heavily and the look on her face suggested she’d barely been able to hold her lunch down.
“You saw it?” She asked shakily, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead.
“Yeah.” Lightning Streak breathed. “I didn’t just see it, I felt it.” He added with a shudder. He’d felt her fear as she’d fallen, he’d felt her hopelessness. For all he cared, he had been his sister.
“Uh, hello? Mind filling us in?” Twilight asked, concern in her voice. “You seized up for a moment there.”
“Your thing, it works. Or at least it did work.” Misty Fly snapped. “We experienced a memory from when we were younger… perhaps one that was a little traumatic, but still one none the less.” She summarised briskly, ripping a bunch of the electrodes off her forehead angrily. “Talk to Celestia, get your spot in Manehatten and rebuild this thing. Use somepony else’s damn head next time though.” She growled, stomping out of the makeshift lab and crashing into a table full of instruments. She scowled back at them and stumbled out without another word.
“What’s her problem?” Twilight asked, slightly shocked by the Major's reaction.
“It wasn’t exactly, uh… a pleasant memory…” Lightning Streak mumbled. “When we were little, she fell off Cloudsdale. She was lucky, dad caught her before she hit the ground but there was some more lasting damage… she was petrified of heights for months. Not exactly ideal when you live in a floating city.” He said with a small smirk. “Even now, she’ll occasionally turn a bit pale when she’s near a high ledge.”
“Lovely, PTSD is the last thing I need right now.” Twilight growled. Suddenly realising how insensitive she sounded she softened slightly. “Well at least we know it works. Sort of.”
“Ka-pew.” Rainy Daze said, miming the machines explosive demise. “Don’t want that happen’ now, do we?”
“Bad fuse or faulty wiring probably, not a hard fix.” Twilight guessed, already diagnosing the machine.
Lightning Streak looked between them awkwardly. “I’ll go talk to her.” He smiled thinly. “Send a letter to Celestia, if you can get us out of this frozen hellhole that’d be fantastic.” He shivered violently and stumbled towards the exit. “Seriously, this place sucks.” He added, if it needed to be pointed out any further.
“Spike, take a letter please.” Twilight announced once the Wonderbolt’s tail had vanished down the tunnel. She turned around, expecting to find her assistant with quill and ink ready.
Instead she found him engrossed over a small, dimly lit screen. She let out a quiet huff and cursed his inquisitiveness.
“Spike, this is important.” She grunted.
“I know, I know.” He grumbled, pulling himself away from the screen. Just…” He glance back at the screen which held the image of two of the humans. “There were aliens in here, right?”
“At some point, yes.” Twilight answered bluntly.
“Can’t help but wonder, what happened to them?” He asked sadly, he looked around as if he expected on to leap from the floor and offer him a cup of tea.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “But they’re not here at any rate. What does it matter to you?”
Spike fidgeted slightly. “What if they died here? It would make what we’re doing a bit like grave-robbing.”
“Spike, There’s no sign of any aliens on board and if there had been, well, their bodies would be preserved by the cold and we would’ve found them.” Twilight said, shuddering at the thought of finding a frozen corpse in the bowels of the Jaeger.
“Yeah, you’re right I guess.” Spike mumbled, pawing at the ice cold metal floor. “Just what we’re doing… feels wrong. I feel like we’re stealing almost.”
Twilight adopted a bemused look. “And you wait three months to tell me this?”
“I didn’t say it was a clever thought.” Spike admitted, kicking a small clump of ice clinging stubbornly to the floor.
Twilight sighed emphatically. “Look, Spike… these monsters, I’ve seen them. It’s terrifying to know what they can do but it’s even more terrifying to know we can’t do anything about it.” Twilight said quietly. “We need a way to fight back, a way to protect ourselves. If the humans are right, and the monsters keep coming…” she trailed off worriedly. “They can only last so long, if they even decide to stick around anyway. After that, well, we will only last so long.”
“Guess so.” The small dragon muttered. “And what if the aliens find out we have one of their machines?”
“I don’t think they’d be too thrilled.” Twilight answered, remembering their reaction when she’d tried nosing around inside their Jaeger. She bit her lip softly. “I feel like I should tell them though.”
“Even though Celestia said not to? Why?” Spike asked, amazed that Twilight would even consider going against Celestia’s orders.
“I feel we could make more progress if we have somebody who actually knows the ins and outs of these machines. I’m looking out for the interests of all of Equestria first and foremost. It's sort of my job description.” Twilight said, ruffling her feathers irritably, “Additionally, Celestia has been a bit of a…” She struggled for words to describe Equestria’s solar monarch
“Distrustful tyrant?” Spike put in helpfully. He covered his mouth, seemingly surprised by his own language.
Twilight growled quietly. “There are far better words you could use, Spike…But.. yeah, more or less.” She said dangerously.
“Sorry, sorry.” Spike said quickly, covering his face with his claws.
“It’s alright.” Twilight reassured him, giving him a gentle squeeze. “Can we take that letter now?’
“Yeah, I’ll get right on it.”
***
Canterlot - Royal Palace
Celestia groaned quietly and cast her eyes ruefully over the large stack of documents, reports and inquires sitting next to her throne. Although it was some time after she’d returned to Canterlot, the work load that had accrued while she’d been away still seemed to be piling up. She had statures to read and sign, research grants to approve, judgements to make and most worrying of all, not nearly enough time to finish them all before some self-obsessed twit would come breathing down her neck. She perused a short paper half-heartedly, re-reading the same line over and over again before finally passing the short document back to her aide with a frustrated sigh.
“Raven, how about we take a short break? I need a moment alone.” Celestia said quietly. Her assistant nodded solemnly, picked up the towering stack of paperwork and trotted out of the throne room, the haphazard stack wobbling dangerously as the grand doors slammed shut behind her.
Celestia let out a quiet sigh of relief and surveyed the almost empty throne room. There were still six guards stationed around the hall, two beside the main door and four more around her throne, each one standing stock straight and eyes forward. She made an almost imperceptible motion with her fore hoof and the Watch Officer directly to the right of the throne spun around bowed his head.
“Your highness?” He asked, his voice rumbling through the otherwise silent hall.
“Take your watch and finish early. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind some extra R&R time.”
“The next watch doesn’t start for another hour.” The watch officer pointed out.
“I can manage myself, thank you.” Celestia said firmly, She admired the guard’s dedication but it occasionally led to moments when their loyalty got in the way of her own desires. “Now if you’d please?”
“Of course, ma’am.” The guard said, perhaps a little offended. He nodded and the other five guards marched out of her chambers, finally leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts.
Almost alone.
“I know you’re in here, Luna.” Celestia said, smiling thinly.
The air in front of Celestia seemed to bend and warp, revealing the Princess of the Night in all her glory. The look she gave Celestia was venomous.
“What gave me away, sister?” Luna asked, her voice a little louder than one would consider appropriate for an inside tone.
“A small lock of your mane was visible, I’m a little surprised the guards didn’t see it.”
Luna harrumphed. “The mortals are no match for our stealth or subtlety.” She pronounced regally.
“It would seem so.” Celestia said with a small nod. She conjured a small pot of tea along with two delicate china cups. “Some tea perhaps?” She asked, filling both cups with the fragrant drink.
“We prefer much stronger drinks than the boiled leaves of tree's can provide…” Luna said, trailing off as the fragrant smell of tea filled the throne room. “However, it would impolite to say no.” She added grudgingly, taking the small cup Celestia offered her with a grace that few other ponies could muster. Celestia smiled again, it would an amazing thing for Luna to admit she enjoyed her tea.
“So, Luna. What brings you down here? This is unusual time for you to be up and about.” Celestia remarked.
“It is your protégé.” Luna remarked, summoning a large, plump cushion to sit on.
Celestia raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “What about her?”
“Her lack of progress in the task you set her, it had been a little over three months since you have heard from her, no? Maybe she doesn’t like the Northern Wastes as much as you imagined.’ Luna asked, delighted at the look of shock and surprise that briefly crossed Celestia’s face.
“I don’t kno-.”
“Do not lie to me, sister. You’ve already left me uninformed of your plans once, it would be wise not to repeat your mistake again.” Luna said. Her voice betrayed no measure of rage but her eyes told a different story. “Perhaps one of my own stu-.”
“That will not be necessary.” Celestia interrupted.
Luna shrugged. “In fact, from what we can gather, you have not informed Princess Sparkle of your ambitions either.” She said coolly. “Is there a reason for this perhaps?” She hesitated a moment, savouring her words “Do you not trust us?”
“I would rather keep this close to my chest.” Celestia answered.
“Did you not think that one of us would be insulted, disgruntled perhaps, that you did not even consult us?” Luna growled, her voice rising slightly.
“We have aliens and monsters rising from our seas, do you think this is a time for squabbling and bickering? This is something that I decided was in the best interest for Equestria.”
“Yes, admittedly your course of action is one we might all agree on, but-.” Luna growled.
“Then what is your problem?” Celestia asked politely.
“We are equals!” She boomed, the china cup skittering across the floor and shattering into a thousand pieces as she stood up with sudden anger. “You forget that we and Twilight are princesses as well! You seem to have stagnated on your throne alone for such a long time that you forget we rule Equestria together.” Luna fumed, stalking back and forth across the throne room.
“Luna-.”
“Do not interrupt!” Luna roared, the full majesty of her voice making Celestia shrink into her throne slightly. The dark alicorn glowered at her sister a moment longer before launching back into her tirade. “When threats loom over Equestria, we should be the first to know, we should be able to discuss and plan a solution. You do not have the right to plan and plot behind both mine and Twilight’s back!”
“Twilight, is not ready to rule.” Celestia said quietly.
Luna’s face contorted in a mixture of anger and confusion. “Not ready? You say she’s not ready? She ascended, did she not? She has proven herself worthy to bear the mantle of leadership and you would deny her right?”
“She’s not ready.” Celestia repeated.
“That is not your place to decide. She was chosen and she has passed the tests, she is ready. Are you so blinded by your own selfish desires that you cannot see the path you are taking?”
Celestia’s response was cut off by a series of booming knocks on the entrance from the grand hall. She shot a look at Luna.
“We’ll discuss this later.” Celestia said calmly, focusing her magic and making the teapot vanish from her side. She glared distastefully at the small pool of tea from where Luna’s cup had smashed and cleaned it with another flicker of energy. “Enter.” She announced.
The doors swung open, revealing a flour white stallion partially hidden under a set of deep purple armour. He trotted in, the aide that followed loyally at his heels burdened down by an assortment of scrolls and maps.
“Shining Armour.” Celestia said with forced cheer. “Welcome back, how was your voyage?”
Shining Armour bowed respectfully to the two monarchs. “Very well, your highness. We hit a large squall east of Derby but we managed it navigate it just fine.” The captain of the royal guard said a little queasily.
“I take it you do not have very good sea legs, Captain?” Luna asked.
“Not at all, your highness, I prefer to keep my hooves on the ground.”
“Indeed. May I ask, what were you doing so far east?” Luna asked curiously. It was rare for the Royal Guard to set sail unless they were accompanying a monarch and even rarer for them to leave Equestria's borders without one present.
Shining Armour glanced at Celestia and she nodded slightly.
“I was leading a small group in the laying of an early warning and detection grid. Sensors and beacons placed in strategic locations so we might detect a monster before they make landfall.” He explained, “Some of the gear is monitored remotely but most of it links back to a monitoring station in Trottingham.
“One would think the Royal Navy would be up to the task.” Luna said suspiciously.
“I needed somepony I could trust completely.” Celestia explained. “It was a mission of paramount importance, one that could save thousands of lives.”
Luna made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat but otherwise kept her thoughts her own.
“Did you find any trace of this breach the aliens spoke of?” Celestia asked.
“No ma’am, nothing. There’d be next to no chance finding it in deep water.” Shining Armour responded curtly. He took a large map from his adjutant and laid it across the floor. “The Eastern Ocean is some 100 million square kilometres, we lack both the manpower and ships to search an area of that size, not to mention the lack of submersibles.”
The two princesses leant forward to examine the map, both failing to notice the orb of green fire which burst into life above their heads. There was a loud crack and a slightly charred scroll sealed with a wax stamp materialised out the swirling flames. The scroll hung comically in the air for a moment before gravity reasserted itself and the roll of paper bounced off Celestia’s head and landed on the floor with a soft smack.
“That’s Twilight’s seal.” Shining Armour noted. He wondered where his sister was and what she’d been up to over the last three months. Sure, not hearing from her for some length of time was not unheard of, but with the events that were transpiring across Equestria he was slightly surprised he hadn’t heard from her more often.
“I’d appreciate it if you could give me a moment alone, Captain. Your report can wait.” Celestia said quietly. She was surprised with how short the scroll was, she’d have hoped Twilight would have more for her.
“I'll take it you want me to leave as well?” Luna asked coldly. She flashed Celestia a look which seemed to dare her to even try.
“You may stay.” Celestia said after a moment’s consideration.
“As if there was ever any doubt.” Luna proclaimed haughtily.
Shining Armour glanced between the two monarchs, silently wondering what event had caused the animosity between them. By virtue of experience, he decided it best to not pry. He banged his hoof against his chest plate and strode proudly from the throne room, his aide dogging his heels as always.
“What was that, sir?” He asked when the giant doors leading into the majestic room had finally slammed shut. He donned his helmet again, his navy blue mane filing the crest elegantly. “Looked they were about to attack each other!”
Shining Armour smirked, not sure if he was scared or aroused by the concept of the two celestial goddesses wrestling with each other. “When you’ve been around them as long as I have, Flash, you’ll know when to just walk away and pretend something never happened.”
“I’m guessing this is one of those times, sir?”
Shining Armour bobbed his head up and down. “Yup.”
***
The doors had barely boomed shut before Celestia broke the wax seal and unrolled the scroll. She eagerly read the contents, gratified to finally hear from her student in the frozen north.
Dear Princess Celestia
While progress has been slow in the research of the alien machine, I have managed to (somewhat) successfully replicate the control system. While the design is still crude, with further testing we may be able to completely rebuild the device to a functional state.
Work has been hampered by the weather conditions and the isolation of the work site, I would propose the project is moved to a new location so further testing can be undertaken. If the project is relocated, I would like to have one of the machine’s legs removed for further study. I believe the DCE-50 that has recently entered service would have the power to haul it. Manehatten is the closest city with the industrial power to support any construction operations you may authorise.
I have gathered you would like to build one, correct? Most of the work you have set us would hardly amounto anything without our own Jaeger program.
Lastly, even with three months of hard work we have barely scratched the surface of understanding the technology in this machine. Perhaps informing the humans of our discovery would allow them to further our knowledge.
Twilight Sparkle
“How audacious!” Luna exclaimed approvingly, reading the letter silently over Celestia’s shoulder.
Celestia frowned. “But very interesting. I’d want more detail on her progress, but if she thinks we can rebuild it I would be inclined to believe her.”
“And what about her proposals? You seem very dedicated at keeping our discovery under wraps.” Luna asked, pleased that Celestia had finally opened up and allowed her counsel.
Celestia let out a defeated sigh. “I’d rather keep the project up north. Keep it secret.”
“And loose precious time and waste even more resources.” Luna droned. “How long until the next attack? What do we do then? Throw rocks?”
“A few months, if another one even happens.” Celestia guessed.
“And look how far we’ve gotten!” Luna said sarcastically. “We believe moving the machine is the better alternative.”
Celestia took a moment to understand the meaning of Luna’s words. “All of it?” she asked.
Luna tilted her head to the side. “Why not? Surely having the entire machine would give us more to work with.”
“How would we hide it from the humans?”
“Go under cover of night perhaps? There is a large covered hanger just outside the city the Air force use to store their airships.” Luna suggested. “Do the aliens venture far from their machine?”
“Apparently Pinkie Pie, one of the element bearers, has taken quite a liking to them. She's guided them a little throughout the city, but never far.” Celestia said wryly, making Luna chuckle.
“If she’s as wild as we remember they’ll have their hands full with her.”
“I still do not like this plan.” Celestia argued. “What if they find out we have one of the machines and become hostile?”
“Well then we would have learnt a very valuable lesson, wouldn’t we?” Luna said as if she was rebuking a foal.
“Luna, stop it.” Celestia said authoritatively, feeling that Luna was now mocking her. She closed her eyes and pondered her options. Yes, there was a risk in sending the wreck into an urban area... but was the trade-off worth it? Celestia imagined Equestria with its own Jaeger, it would no longer be helpless in the face of the monsters nor as vulnerable if the aliens became unfriendly.
“Alright, we’ll do it.” She said after a moment of contemplation. “Carefully.” She added as a self-satisfied smirk appeared over Luna’s face. “Sister, you are skilled in the arts of illusion, perhaps you could accompany the expedition into Manehatten?”
“So we’re not telling the humans?” Luna guessed, one of her eyebrows rising slightly
“I think it would be unwise to do so.” Celestia said, wiping the smirk off Luna’s face. The Princess of the Night seemed to want to rebuke Celestia but decided to keep whatever comment she had prepared to herself.
“Very well.” Luna answered wearily, sinking back into her cushion with a quiet sigh.
Celestia clapped her hooves together in a pleased manner. “It is decided then, you liaise with the railway and secure us the engines and I’ll inform Twilight. You can head north and stay with them in Manehatten to supervise.”
Luna bowed her head in agreement, pleased she was finally involved in the plan, even if she did hold some reservations about it. She considered arguing with her sister further but quickly dismissed it, there was rarely any point in trying to get Celestia to change her mind.
“Very well then, I shall leave at once.” Luna said, rising from the cushion regally.
“Might want to pack a coat, I hear its cold up there.” Celestia said facetiously, smiling thinly as Luna turned and marched regally out of the throne room. The dark alicorn threw a dirty look at her sister before slamming the door shut.
Celestia gazed at the iron-banded door silently. After a moment’s consideration she summoned a quill and parchment and started scribbling furiously. Her thoughts quickly drifted back to Luna even as the nub of the quill scratched noisily across the page. She hummed quietly to herself and tapped the feather of the quill across her foreleg.
“Oh sister, what is on your mind?”
***
City of Trottingham - Eastern Ocean Monitoring Station
The watch station in Trottingham was brand new. Unlike the brick and cobblestone buildings which surrounded it, the structure had whitewashed walls and gunmetal grey support columns. Despite the large Navy insignia that hung over the door, the facility was mostly staffed by civilians. A few guards kept watch over the new building, deterring the few ponies curious enough to approach the new structure from proceeding any further. The newness of the place carried on into the interior, spotless glass tables adorned the reception and the slightly off-white paint on the walls hadn’t even been stained. Through several sets of expertly crafted wooden doors lay the real heart of the operations centre, banks of computers, monitors and printers lined the walls; some were still so new that they were still covered in shrink-wrap. It was here that two dozen ponies milled around, checking readings on their instruments, chatting idly about the girls/bug-eyed monsters back home and drinking enough coffee to satisfy a small town.
It was also here that a young technician named Torque worked. Like most of his colleagues, Torque had only been at the monitoring station for a little under a week, a week with which he’d struggled to familiarise himself with some of the most advanced technology in Equestria.
“Really?” He asked himself quietly. “The most advanced?” He scoffed, thinking about the massive Jaeger currently sitting somewhere in Manehatten. He’d never admit it to anypony but he had large posters of the machine plastered all across his room, a new apartment on the east side of Trottingham he’d managed to rent with what money he could scrape together.
“You talking to yourself again?” A voice Torque instantly knew belonged to his supervisor asked, making him nearly fall out of his chair in surprise.
“Wha- wh- um, uh. No ma’am.” He stammered, trying to look as dignified as he could manage. He spun around slowly to meet the deep purple eyes of his shift’s supervisor, Skyray. He shrunk into his chair slightly, deliberately averting his gaze from the maze of angry red scars that covered the left side of her face and ran through her eye.
She smiled thinly. “Skyray or Ray will do fine, thanks. I work for a living.” Her gaze hovered him a moment longer before flickering off to the side.
“Yeah… Su- sure thing.” Torque mumbled awkwardly as she trotted away from his station. He watched her go, his golden eyes glued to the back of her pale cream head. Despite the horrific injury which had destroyed half of her face he still found her oddly beautiful. He continued staring as she made her rounds around the room and he was still staring when his computer spat out a roll of paper and squawked nosily at him.
For the second time in under ten minutes, Torque nearly fell off his seat in surprise. Straightening himself out, he looked over the temperamental device, wondering what it was beeping about. It took him a moment to realise that one of the outer sensors had picked up something. Something big. He looked around stupidly, thankful there we only a few other ponies around to see his clumsy display. Carefully, he double checked the sensor data and cross-checked it with a second nearby beacon. Much to his discomfort, the sudden surge of water which had triggered the sensor still stubbornly remained. He continued staring at it when his computer hurled another roll of paper at him, this time from a third buoy.
“Uh, Ray, we’ve got something here.” He said worriedly.
“What’ve we got?” Skyray asked, appearing over his shoulder like a spectre. Her sudden appearance nearly made Torque jump again as her mangled face appeared next to his. She brushed a lock of her chocolate brown mane away from her face and examined the roll of paper the computer had churned out.
“Movement, something big.” Torque answered.
“How big?”
Torque double checked his data. “Displacement is 2300 tons at least. I’m getting faint radioactive readings as well,” He said seamlessly.
“Do we have any shipping in the area?” Skyray asked softly.
He consulted a chart which hung from the wall next to his computer. “Nope, not anything that’s registered at least.”
“What is its course?” Skyray asked, a hint of nervousness in her usually confident tone.
“North-Eastern Seaboard, I might be able to narrow it down when it passes the next buoy. It’s taking its sweet time though.” He noted. The signature was moving probably no more than about 90 kilometres an hour, giving them twelve hours or so before it made landfall.
“Alright, good work. Keep me and the loop and send a copy of your data up the chain.” Skyray said, clapping a hoof on his shoulder and making him jump nervously again.
Torque spun around. “This equipment is pretty new, maybe it’s just a glitch? I mean, the monsters can’t be that big can they?” He asked disbelievingly.
Skyray stopped, absently touching a hoof to the scar tissue around her eye. “Let’s hope so.”
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This is pretty cool.
Just one concern though. It's just a small worry, but I'll bring it up anyhow. When the ponies do get their jaeger up and running, please don't make them like "insta-experts", because the novel and movie made it seem like it takes quite a while (months to years) for competency to be developed in fighting using the jaeger. It would be kinda disappointing to see them as competent as the humans, after only a short while of having it (I mean they have more harmony and such and other factors which would (in my mind) make drifting a lot more efficient and effective). Ultimately, make it clear what sort of difference experience in piloting makes between both pilot pairs. Just a bit of a thing to keep in mind (though you do keep a lot of stuff in mind thus far) and I'm just throwing it out there. Either way, the course of this seems pretty nice and is walking a steady line along my disbelief, so kudos to you.
Loving this story (so far)
Celestia's plans and haughtiness has become slightly undone.
I approve.
Now I wait for the angry Jaeger asking the ponies why it shouldn't destroy Brawler Yukon after they foolishly activated the distress beacon.
In yo face, Celestia.
Equestria isn't ready for this level of technology!
The suspense is killing me on what will happen next!
2300 TONS ALREADY??? dude, shit is gonna go down, HARD.
I can only see three possible outcomes.
1.-The Jaeger wins against the Kaiju but it wont be able to fight again.
2.-The Jaeger wins against the Kaiju but gets destroyed in the process, the pilots barely survive.
3.- The battle ends on a tie, the Kaiju dies but leaves the Jaeger unoperational, the Jaeger cannot fight again without repairs. Princess Luna comes and tells them the truth alongside Twilight.
I can see the equis making one that support the powers of the users like one the uses earth ponies to be able to last longer in battle as well to dish out a pounding, unicorns having a range power as well a few other powers depending on the users and pegasi be able to move faster and have a higher doge rate allowing them to go in and out with little damage
Excuse me while I eat this popcorn and wait for Celestia's covert op to blow up in her face.......
“Skyray or Ray will do fine, thanks. I work for a living.”
I knew someone in the airforce who said this once to some cadets, except that he still wanted his name to be prefixed by his rank for obvious reasons.
waaaaaiiiiiiiit a second. (actual pacific rim spoilers maybe, you've been warned) wasnt the whole thing of pacific rim that the kaujie were being sent through by some douchebag aliens to wipe out humanity to collonize earth? but, they had came to earth once before but during the jurasic era and it was unlivable to them. but, after human POLLUTION had mucked things up a bit, THATS when it was sutible for them to take over. so, given how equestria is rather arse backwards tech wise and probably much more eco friendly minded when building things, why would the afor said douchebag aliens want to take it over if it hasnt been made "good" (to them anyway) by pollution?
3399654 outcome number 4.-For some reason Pinkie will become the second pilot of Midsummer Night,which will create a Jaeger capable of reality warping .
I really have to wonder what would happen if human and pony tried to pilot a Jaeger.
Can't wait for everything to blow up in Celestia's face.
Didn't she have Twilight write a whole bunch of reports on the importance of making friends and not discriminating/fearing people that are different and such? I guess she didn't actually read those friendship reports after all... So much for being a wise and benevolent leader.
I assumed that the ponies would have learned about the mind-machine interface the hard way, but I suppose this new kaiju attack is sufficient karma for not even asking the humans for help with the tech they took from them.
Still waiting for a Jaeger to feature in a conversion bureau story...
i see that if the ponies do build a Jeager it will be an equivalent of a human .5 because it was built from technology they barely understand reverse-engineered from a heavily damaged Model. so if the ponies do build one and the humans got mad they would absolutely Destroy the pony Jeager
can you pleas make sure ponies DO NOT GET A JAEGER
3399779 If it's Pinkie, the jaeger would most likely gain the capabilities of a transformer, able to change from a bipedal to a quadrupedal stance with ease. As for other ponies, different co-pilots could grand different enhancements. More power and durability with AJ, more precise strikes from Rarity, speed with RD, stun stare capabilities with Fluttershy, and freaking magic with Twilight.
Let's start brainstorming ideas for what we can name the Equestrian Jaeger.
Here is my contribution: White Dragoon.
Alright now you guys come up with one
I just realized this. In the movie, the aliens that controlled the kaiju wanted to take control of our dimension. Somewhere in there, a scientist says, "We practically terraformed it for them". That was because almost every country on Earth is industrialized. Equestria, which is relatively unindustrialized, wouldn't have the kinds of pollution that make the aliens feel at home. Why would they want to take control of their dimension? Is it just because the humans are there and they want them dead?
3400056 That's why the kaiju haven't popped up yet. The masters of the kaiju know there's a second portal, they're not retards, but they don't move in because they need to wait for Equis (the name of the 'world') to industrialize, so it can be terraformed better. They don't want to do all of the work themselves, because they're lazy bastards. And even if they did want to, they can't move in because Equis' air is so clean. Even if their kaiju managed to invade successfully, then what? There's an extremely clean planet they can't go to. They need to let the people of Equis do most of the job, then they wrap up the rest. That's how they've done it before, and that's how they'll do it again.
And I cannot WAIT for those two to find out that the people of Equis are making their own Jaegars... the trust being broken, the anger, the rage... ooh, it makes me feel all tingly! And yes, I do enjoy the emotional and sad moments in stories like this...
3399654
I would like most to see the third option.
3399779
A Centaur Jaeger. Pony does the walking, human does the fighting.
3399644
Bang on the money, it'll take a while before any of them even get used to the drift. Lightning Streak and Misty were barely drifting for a second of two and they were about to pass out. It'll take time for them to get used to the feeling.
3399729
It's a pretty generic comeback any NCO will make to someone calling them 'Sir' or 'Ma'am'. In this case neither are military... so... I guess she just doesn't like formalities?
3399732
I'm assuming they would either
A; Learn from their mistakes and make the Kaiju more adaptable
B: The Kaiju haven't been around long enough to feel the effects. If the dinosaurs were Kaiju (I think that's what Newt implied), they'd been around millions of years.
I'm personally going with A. If they can adapt the Kaiju to fight Jaegers, why not make them more adaptable to the biosphere of a planet?
3399888
Haha. Haha, Haha.
Okay, they'll get Jaegers
3400008
Iv'e already named all the Jaegers in this story. If someone does come up with something I like more though, I'm probably going to use it.
And no, I'm not saying the names or how many there are.
3400056
See above for how. For why, the race devours planets. A planet like 'Equestria' (that's a country, not the planet but lets go with it.) which is rich in mineral resources would be a treasure trove for them. Don't forget, there's also a lot more in Equestria than just ponies...
3399779
Well, it'd probably take years for them to develop a bond strong enough that'd allow them to drift in the first place. I'll say flat out now, there won't be any human-pony drifting.
3400209 aye but wasnt the issue more, it wasnt habitable to the aliens controlling the kaujie? which is why adapting the K's wasnt the issue, it was cause they couldnt adapt themselves?
3399654
Or you know, the the Jaeger loses and someone dies because this is supposed to be a dark story and characters are hilariously expendable.
Why are people acting Like Celestia's plan is solely her fault? LUNA was the one who egged her on to try and steal the damn Jaeger.
Also, good chapter. But please for the love of god do not give the ponies their own Jaeger, this story will jump the shark if that happens.
3400217
I'm not sure why the aliens would be going through the portal. From what I understand of their psyche, they send the Kaiju through to eliminate the locals and then harvest the resources either using said Kaiju or some machine. Newt mentioned 'They strip the planet bare and move to the next' why would they move in?
Regardless, that's the line I'm taking for this story.
3400227
Well sorry to tell you, they will get their own Jaeger... eventually. They're hilariously far off even having a working prototype. They haven't got a stable drift working yet for starters.
I know how to write a story, it's not going to be 'K thx, we got Jaeger now. Pew pew.' it'll be a lot more involved, difficult and time consuming than that. I'm not going to just spring a Jaeger into this without the proper build up.
Aw...
I was hoping Shane and Mich would find out about Brawler Yukon, get pissed, and goomba-stomp Equestria...
Oh well.
And, as a Jaeger name suggestion, how do you like Shifter Paragon?
Ways this could end well:
-Once the ponies manage to replicate Jaeger tech, they could assist Midsummer in combat,
-Alternatively, they could take on a non-combat support role and repair Midsummer after battles, or maybe implement magitech (Arcane blasters? Lightning batteries for the railgun?).
Ways this could end horribly:
-Ponies die from chasing the RABIT
-Ponies get scared of Michael and Sean, and use Brawler Yukon to attack them
-Celestia turns into a tyrant (It could happen. Step one of a dictatorship is to construct a superweapon.)
-Somepony steals Yukon for malicious intent.
-Sean discovers that they've been keeping the reconstruction of Brawler Yukon a secret.
3400248
But how are they going to get replacements for the parts that are irreparably damaged?
Honestly at this rate it seems that the Ponies Jaeger Is likely to blow up in their faces.
3400364
They make them themselves? I've shown that they have an adequate understanding that would allow them to build a Jaeger. IIRC, Shane even mentioned they could probably build a shell on their own. The hard part was, and still is, nailing down the controls/drift along with putting the whole thing together so it actually works.
That's kind of the idea. It'll take time before all the kinks in the system are worked out... even then...
3400008
Thunderhooves Blitzer
Sun's Wrath, since it's clearly Celestia's pet project
Hammerhead Kicker
Bladewing Knight
Equis Alpha
Or any combination of the above.
3400209
An officer who says that is just weird.
3400653
NCO - Non Commissioned Officer i.e. a Sergeant
Tell the Pilots! You don't steal your most valuable ally's tech and keep it a secret! That's how you make enemies!
I'm still kind of surprised that the ponies haven't connected the dots.
Humans are warriors, and we despise those who lie to and steal from us. Equestria is completely, laughably outgunned. At this point, the brothers really have nothing left to lose. The humans have a giant killbot in the middle of a population center. And to top it all off, the Equestrians are relying on the humans they're subverting to protect them from giant-ass sea monsters.
That's a recipe for conflict if there ever was one.
3400192 or what about human does the walking, pony does the fighting... Multiple arms or legs like Crimson Typhoon or Romeo Blues orginal design :3
I see that Im probably the only one to understand why Celestia is hiding everything behind her back. In all honesty I can even support it. With great power comes great responsibility afterall.
Why she keeps things secret form the Rangers? They weren't really forthcomming in the first place.
Why loading herself with all that? So she is the only one to blaim afterwards. I believe she does all this just to keep those she loves safe one way or annother. This may often come over as tyrannical but it not necessarily is.
I think that when the time has come both sides will come to an agreement. Until the: KAIJU TIME!!!
24.media.tumblr.com/dc63540bc5b5be07965276365b9babb1/tumblr_mquwqd2JR31rk30uvo1_400.gif
3399732 The aliens already visited Earth during the Dino era and probably annihilated anything larger then a small rodents until they discovered that the planet was not "ready".
Will one of our humans please remind Celestia that the amount of effort it would take to remove her from the equation doesn't even register on the scale.
That said, this gets better and better with each chapter, keep it up.
Considering the fact that apparently the way both Jaegers got to equestria was through the experimental tech, that means that Brawler Yukon might have some of said tech in one piece. Keeping that part hidden from the humans might not be Celestia's best idea. Just waiting for the plan to blow up in
s face
3400220
I giggled when I read the 'hilariously expendable' part.
I can't wait~!
3400480 Must admit, Equis Alpha has a nice ring to it.
3400693
I know what a Non-Commissioned Officer is, that's why i feel physical pain when a character in a story/movie/game/whatever calls an NCO sir/madam, such as (like you've mentioned) a sergeant.
If you're telling me this because of something in the story, then believe me, I've already forgotten many of the names and titles, as is my way.
Dangerious Celestia, very dangerious... It's far better to tell a human of ones intentions then let one find out after you've done them
... She's gonna cop it, I just know...
I get the impression that as Michael & Shane mentioned to Celestia that they drive Midsummer with their minds without really understanding how, that she was hoping that the control interfaces would be simple to figure out.
Sorry Princess, not gonna be that easy.
I have a feeling that something real bad's about to come. Equestria's got to get its priorities straight.
Making a Pony Jaeger would take a long, long time, by Equestrian standards. Personally, I think the pony prototype wouldn't have the same results like the human prototype. Maybe losing their first Kaiju fight, showing how far they actually are from Midsummer Night.
Speculations.
And I find it weird to call the pony version 'Jaeger'. They're herbivores. Prey, not hunters.
3400908 ah, fair enough (fucking love that gif)
3400480 I agree with Mertio23. Equis Alpha does sound pretty cool.
3401125
That's true.
There's "Beschützer" (Protector) or "Vormund" (Guardian).
i think the story would be better if the humans stayed more badass
3400008 Sleipnir, Named after Odins Horse.
3401165>>3401125
Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense. I might have to look around for something similar.
3401551
Implying they won't?
3401006
*Giggle*