Every Day Brings Something New
“So, can I get you anything?” I tilted my head towards the kitchen.
I’d never given much thought to whether Daring Do was just a character from a book series, and it was a bit too much to process without coffee or the two hours of waking up that the beverage usually substituted. Coffee pots were mysteriously absent in Ponyville, so I hadn’t been able to locate one for myself, making mornings a hassle.
She stopped inspecting the room and thought for a moment. “No thanks. Already ate.”
I shrugged and sat on one of the cushions that had been liberated from the fire at Soft Down’s Inn. They were worth the risk. “Alright. I’d probably drop it anyway.”
Daring opened her mouth, but instead of her first answer, shook her head and said, “Let’s get down to business. What do you know about the Frozen North?”
“That it’s cold and to the north?” What else was I supposed to say? It wasn’t like I could remember it from any of the books Twilight had thrown at me.
She facehoofed. “Other than that.”
“Geography isn’t my strong suit. Neither is knowing who’s fictional and who will be waking me up the next morning.”
“I don’t spend a lot of time in Equestria. Even then, I try not to draw attention to myself by walking around public without a decent disguise, but if we’re going to be working together, I figured it’d be polite to let you know I’m more than a pencil pusher.”
“Yeah, your colors are kinda distinct. What brought you back to Equestria this time?”
“I was overseeing a two-year dig in Zebrica when I received a letter from the princesses. Good thing too. I was about to go crazy from the boredom. Things were hectic and fun the first couple months, but then it was just watching foals play in the dirt. Anyway, the princesses want to mount an expedition to travel north of the Crystal Mountains.” At my shrug, she sighed and added, “North of the Crystal Empire.”
“Never been there, but I know it exists.”
“It’s a start.” She would have had just as much trouble finding Antarctica if I’d asked her to point it out on a globe of Earth.
“Did it used to have an emperor? Sombra was a king, and Cadence is a princess.”
“How can you know about Sombra but not the Frozen North? It’s where ponies lived before Equestria even existed. This is an important part of your history!”
“Never took the time to learn. Been busy with plenty of other things.” Apparently, the princesses hadn’t told Colonel Mustard I’d only been a pony for about a month.
“Yes, I read your dossier.”
“Wait, what? I have a dossier?” I didn’t think Celestia had faked that much information.
Daring smirked. “I’ll call it an uncompiled biography if it’ll make you feel better.”
“I’m just surprised I have one.”
She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t expect there to be much information on the leading authority of a previously stagnant field of research? Not to mention your position as Beta of a diamond dog pack alongside a Bearer. Nice job on that, by the way.”
I smiled. “As much as I enjoy being Beta, I never would have planned on it. And did you say I was the leading authority?” I wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed with Equestria or just flattered with myself.
“This is an excellent time to get back on track. You are, and that’s why I’m here. The princesses have wanted to reclaim some of ponykind’s history for centuries, but there is a bit of an issue with the Crystal Mountains.”
“They want me to blow up an entire mountain range?”
Daring kept a straight face for all of two seconds before she was on the floor, legs flailing at the air as she laughed until she could hardly breathe. “I love how—I love how that is the first thing that you thought of.”
“Hey, that’s what happened last time they called me in. Besides, nothing else I can do with thaumite could be used to bypass a mountain, let alone a bunch of them. They’re stubborn like that. Why can’t pegasi just fly over them?”
“Just give me a moment. Haven’t laughed like that in months.” She took a deep breath as she patted her various pockets like she was checking for her keys. Her grumbles were interrupted by a smug “Aha!” as she produced a bundle of wool cloth. “You’ve probably heard pegasi don’t mind the cold as much as other ponies, right?”
“Yep.” I watched as she set it on the table and unwrapped it, her breath becoming more visible as the number of layers dwindled. The air’s temperature dropped a couple degrees, just enough to be noticeable.
The insulation had comprised most of the package’s bulk, and what remained was a plum-sized chunk of ice sculpted to look like water in motion. Fog oozed from it constantly, rolling across the table and dissipating a short distance away. “Let me tell you, I am glad this thing is out of my pocket. This is everfrost.”
Whatever it was, it took the first law of thermodynamics behind a shed and mercilessly beat it with a rusty pipe. Poking it probably wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Holy crap, that is cold!” Poking it definitely wasn’t a good idea, and I’d touched it with a hoof. Ice cubes were like handwarmers compared to that thing.
Daring chuckled as I nursed my hoof. “Above the Crystal Mountains is a zone of extreme cold. Everfrost is what happens when you toss some water into it. Pegasi might be hardy, but even we can’t handle something cold enough to turn our feathers as brittle as glass in less than a second. Nothing short of dragonfire will melt it either.”
“Because magic?”
Daring shrugged. “Something like that. All I know is that it’s cold.”
“How cold is it?”
“Cold enough to destroy any thermometer and cause temperature-reading spells to malfunction.”
“Very cold. Got it.” It was easy enough to blast something into tiny bits, but insulating an airship against a place cold enough to flash freeze a penguin in a parka would be much more challenging.
The scorch marks on the workbench caught my eye as I cobbled ideas together just to throw them out a minute later. As awesome as it would be to have a flamethrower on an airship, thaumite couldn’t conjure fire, and it was an accident waiting to happen. That much fire would have come in handy when the voidlings were still out and about. I made a mental note to research flamethrowers at a later time.
Daring’s voice brought me back to the meeting. “There is one more thing to discuss before you can make your decision.”
I could only imagine what absurd obstacle she neglected to add. “Being cold enough to use the Kelvin scale isn’t enough? What, does it also have house-sized hail?”
A loud popping noise made me wince as Daring stretched in her seat. ”Oh yeah, that’s the spot… Sorry, couldn’t sit still. What’s a Kelvin and why—never mind. This isn’t even about the Crystal Mountains.” She cleared her throat before continuing, “Most airships are built at a shipyard in Canterlot, but all four skydocks are being used to build ‘luxury’ ships for fat cats with more bits than common sense.”
I was proud it didn’t take me long to piece it together. “And you want to build it here, seeing as there’s all this land and a readily available supply of metal.” At least I wouldn’t have to worry about getting too far away from the pack.
“Precisely. Payment would be provided in full for materials and services, of course.” Now that’s what I liked to hear.
“I’ll have to discuss it with Pinkie and the rest of the pack, but I don’t see why they’d object.” Well, the pack might be leery of that many unfamiliar ponies trotting around, but they would get over it.
“As in Pinkamena Diane Pie, the Element of Laughter?” Her brows migrated to the top of her head. Honestly, was it so hard to believe that Pinkie led—never mind.
“Yeah, but that’s a mouthful. She just goes by Pinkie Pie. Or Pinkie.”
“I thought that was a joke.”
“We hear that a lot. You should have met her already if you flew here from Ponyville.”
“No, I took to the air right after arriving at the train station.” She was lucky Rainbow hadn’t spotted her. If that’d happened, there was no way she would have been here on time.
“Then she’s probably sitting outside the front door right now.”
“Quiet, you,” said the front door.
Daring snorted into her hoof. “Can’t you just discuss it with her now?”
“What do you think of the offer, Pinkie?”
“I am not Pinkie. I am… Door, but I believe the one known as Pinkie would say ‘yes’.”
“Thank you, Door. Well, Daring, I still have to talk to everydog, but—”
“No, is fine.” That time, Door sounded a lot like Spot.
“How many of you are out there instead of at your posts?” Call me paranoid, but there was more in Equestria to be worried about than voidlings. That’s not to say all of them were on sentry duty, just a pair at each of the main entrances and a handful more scattered elsewhere. Knowing this world’s love of wordplay, it was only a matter of time before something like rock lobsters attacked.
Door answered with a sound not unlike a dozen diamond dogs stumbling over one another as they beat a quick retreat, yelps interspersed between the clanging of metal on metal. I would have preferred a number, but that would suffice.
“This is the strangest pack of diamond dogs I have ever known, and I haven’t even seen any of them yet,” Daring mumbled, her face buried into her hooves like someone had just brought out the picture album of embarrassing foalhood moments.
“Ain’t it great?” Hopefully the meeting wouldn’t last too much longer, as my leg—er, missing leg, you know what I meant—was starting to hurt. “Anyway, I’ll just be working with thaumite, right? I don’t have much experience with… flying thingies. Aeronautics, that’s the word.”
“You’ll be working with the engineers to integrate it properly into the design, but that’s it. Oh, you’ll also be required to teach the crew’s mechanic about proper thaumite handling.”
I hadn’t even considered they’d need somebody for maintenance, but training another would mean I could stay with the pack during the expedition. As much fun as it would have been to go exploring with Daring Do, that pesky thing called “responsibility” demanded my attention.
“I’ve never had to teach before, but I could give it a go. Is there any chance of the worksite getting harassed by Whozawhatil?”
“Ahuizotl.”
“Whatever. Not my fault his name was pieced together by throwing darts at the alphabet. Is he going to be a problem?”
“Well, he shouldn’t be. Last time I saw him, he fell off a cliff.”
“Screaming ‘Curse you, Daring Do!’ on the way down?”
“Heh, yeah. Predictable bastard, ain’t he?” Daring chuckled as she looked off into the distance like she was reminiscing. “Besides, he’s in Equestria less often than I am. If the princesses catch wind of him on their turf, he’s done.”
“Will you wear the pith helmet next time you visit?”
“Why? This is hardly the appropriate climate.”
“Please? You know you feel weird without it.” It’d be like me intentionally going without my goggles. Birds fly, dolphins get caught in tuna nets, and I wear goggles—it’s the natural way of things.
“...Fine.”
“That’s all I needed to hear. I’m in.”
Daring beamed with earnest excitement. “Great! I will return with the documents and roster once everybody possible has been hired.”
“And here I thought I was the only one who said ‘everybody’ for mixed groups.”
“When you’ve travelled the world as much as I have, it’s much easier just to use the catch-all instead of double-checking who you’re talking to.”
“So, who will I be tutoring?”
“Don’t know yet. You’re one of the first contacted, since it’d be foolish to not have the location sorted out as early as possible. At the earliest, the airship and construction crews are still a week from being completed.”
“At least that’ll give me time to start the research.” Twilight was going to make me get a library card if I kept checking out her books.
“That’s the spirit. I look forward to working with you, Ms. Gears.” Her hoof moved a couple of inches before she realized she wasn’t wearing a hat she could tip, so she settled for a respectful nod.
“Ew, formality. ‘Sterling’ or ‘Gears’ is fine, but no Ms., Mrs., or anything in between.” It had nothing to do with the man-to-mare thing. I wouldn’t let her call me “Mr.” if I were still male. “Are you leaving the everfrost here?”
“Yes, I figured it would help with your research. Have a good day, Sterling.”
“You too. Watch out for the confetti.”
“Wha—” was all she got out before she opened the door and disappeared in a cloud of confetti and streamers. Confetti fluttered to the floor around her as she blinked in confusion, shook her head, and left with another chuckle. “What is wrong with you ponies?”
“I’m not cleaning that up.” Pinkie was thorough, but that didn’t stop me from finding the occasional streamer in an obscured corner.
Pinkie’s head popped around the doorframe and grinned. “Okey dokey lokey.”
I sighed and lay down on the couch, stretching to take up as much of it as possible. The meeting took more out of me than it should have, and I needed a little break before deciding which project to work on.
The temperature shield could wait until after I had a working prototype for my prosthetic, especially since it wouldn’t take more than a day to finish. Well, maybe a bit longer if drawing the blueprints gave me any trouble. I didn’t know how many ponies were running around with peg legs, but keeping all the good stuff to myself would be a dick move.
It took effort to pull myself out of the obscenely comfortable position I’d stumbled upon, but there was a lot of tinkering to do. Pulling the goggles down over my eyes, I got to work.
I hadn’t planned on using thaumite in the prototype, but I just couldn’t resist. Sparks flew and fresh scorch marks marred the worktable as the hours flew by at a speed usually reserved for caffeinated cheetahs. The dull pain faded even further as I lost myself in tinkering, shaping the ductile metals with little more than brute force and enough luck to provide some semblance of finesse.
Piece by piece, bolt by bolt, it took form before my eyes. The occasions where I tried to use my hooves as hands were few and far between, and they rarely set me back more than a few minutes.
A few hours after sunset, I was nearly finished. The subtle gibbering had surfaced when darkness fell, but it was little more than white noise to keep me company. All that was left was getting the thaumite to fit under the outer shell, and if it worked like it was supposed to, a light source was just a small adjustment away at any time. Granted, a front leg would work better, but I wasn’t about to lose another limb just because it’d be more convenient.
“Just a little more.” Any accusations that the tip of my tongue stuck out the corner of my mouth were nothing but lies.
In the corner of my eye, a figure stepped out of the shadows. I jumped, spinning to see what I was dealing with, my hooves mashing the thaumite into itself. There was a burst of light and sound, and the last few hours were scattered around the room, reduced to little more than scrap. Nothing had nicked me too badly, but it wasn’t the tiny cuts that stung the most.
There was nothing there.
With a scream of frustration, I swept my hooves across the top of the workbench, knocking off what little remained. All that time spent was gone. It was only a few hours wasted, but I’d felt almost good for those few hours, that is, until they were destroyed by a lapse of judgement and a slip of the hoof.
As much as I wanted to scream and throw things in a cathartic fit, my anger was slipping. I was just… tired.
“I’ll clean it up tomorrow. I need to take a break from this and go to sleep.” I took caution not to step on anything as I made my way to the bedroom and flopped onto the bed.
The lights were still on, mocking my lack of energy to get up and pull the shutters closed. It couldn’t hurt to leave them on, and fewer shadows meant fewer incidents. Yeah, I could learn to sleep with the lights on.
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Yay, more of this. No better way to learn how to do things than by blowing yourself up a few times.
FirstDamn it SECOND
Hoppla! Not sure why I hadn’t up voted this already. Something to do with Batman, I assume.
I am enjoying the show so far, though. Curious, I must admit, to see exactly what it is that Sterling thought she saw.
ONWARD TO GLORY AND EXPLOSIONS!
Perpetual motion machine now!
Free source of unlimited cooling plus turbine plus water plus basic piping system equals practically* infinite energy!
*until the neighborhood freezes over, but that won't be for a thousand years or so...
Good chapter. How will she handle being a teachers. Will she teach anypony we know?
This is excellent. You make a compelling story. The suspense and conversations! The SCIENCE.
You've written a sequel
Im not even done with the original yet
4525766 Sorry, there were more stories to tell.
4525817
I need to step up my game then
I found this line extremely hilarious with the image it conjured in my mind.
Sylvester Stallone as his Judge Dredd character yelling, "I am the law", while being beat by a piece of ice by an angry icicle.
"Uh oh, I should probably read that myself one of these days.
"
"Coltvin", of course.
Whenever Pinkie refers to herself in the third person, I read her dialogue in her voice from the Mentally Advanced Series. Eheheheheh. Yes.
Or the fires of Mount Doom, presumably.
That's a tough question to answer, because "your world is a cartoon show in mine" isn't easy to explain.
I think Hasbro has stated that they do accept the comics as part of canon, but since I've yet to read any of them, I wouldn't know.
Me too.
Also, there should have been some obscure joke in there about how they tried to make something colder than everfrost (or, better yet, the SAME TEMPERATURE), and, as far as they could tell, it stopped short at about -273 degrees. Just mention it offhand.
Twilight works fast...
Or, because some people don't even have bodies; everyone.