There was no time for rest, and so much information to absorb that from the moment she woke up Chance was practically assaulted with news. Some of it was good. There had been an unexpected miracle at the Ponyville General Hospital. Despite the awful condition the bombing victims had been in when they arrived, not a single one had died in the night and all were now stable. None had lost any limbs or apparently suffered any of the mental degradation associated with severe cranial injuries. They would all make it back to their families.
But most news was not so good. Los Pegasus had been taken and the guard there completely destroyed. Worse, that entire part of the Equestrian navy had burned while floating useless in the port. There would be no deterring invaders by water, for by the time reinforcements could arrive from Seaddle their enemy would have all its troops and resources installed. If reports from the as-of-yet unassailable pegasus quarter were to be believed, the invaders were burning their own ships as well. They obviously didn't plan on going anywhere.
"Celestia has a special assignment for you," Twilight explained, when she had caught them up on all the recent happenings. It wasn't just Chance she explained it to. Her friends were there too, looking as quiet and dignified as the CMC ever did. She was not so different from her friends that she felt anything different than they did. Exultation and pride welled in her. Celestia had thought of them! She had a special assignment! Not that this was the first time. The entirety of Equestria's electronic defenses were their special contributions, at her personal request. That did not make future requests any less meaningful in their eyes.
Still, there was something sad about the way she said it. "You don't all have to go," Twilight Sparkle was explaining. "But when the mechanical humans arrived they damaged Truth. We realize now just how much we depend on Truth for our entire infrastructure. That his location is known even by an ally puts Equestria at risk."
"Because you could blow up their stabilizer and stop them from getting reinforcements," Chance explained, for the benefit of her friends. "But if the Tower knows where Truth is, there's nothing stopping them from doing it again. They don't depend on us to stabilize the bridge, so they could make their own supply-lines. They could even invade if they wanted to." The way she said it, she tried to make it seem as though she knew that was exactly what they were going to do. It disturbed Chance greatly that the alliance with humanity had been expanded to include the Steel Tower.
If Twilight caught on to her implications, she ignored them. "It would be even worse if Truth fell into the hands of the invaders while trying to get him safely out of human reach. After what the Fury did to that dreadnaught, we think it might be the only ship in Equestria that we can be sure will keep Truth safe. So the assignment is to take Truth far away from any major city, maybe out of Equestria completely. Just get him somewhere he won't be found, and keep him safe until the war is over. Make sure nopony finds out where you are, not even me."
Scootaloo nodded. As the captain of the Fury, she was the de-facto leader when it came to making decisions for the group. "We'll do it!"
"For Equestria!" echoed Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle just nodded.
"The Fury's upgrades aren't finished." Chance was a little less optimistic. She could see that, while this assignment was important, it also seemed chosen to practically guarantee their safety. It was keeping them out of danger, babying them. "The armor isn't installed, no telling when the thaumic shield we commissioned will be delivered, besides the lift-crystal not being configured for a four-ton steel cube."
Scootaloo deflated visibly with her words, chest not puffed out nearly so much. But Twilight didn't seem the least bit perturbed. Not even surprised. "I know. We've already had all the parts you had in storage in Canterlot shipped here, and Truth has been making more ever since he woke up. Celestia requisitioned a thaumic shield from the royal armory, along with a military lift-crystal. There is a team of a dozen naval shipwrights on the train from Canterlot right now to help you finish your upgrade by tomorrow morning. I've been told if you need anything else, simply give me the list and I'll see it's here before you leave."
Each time Chance was about to bring up some other objection, Twilight pre-empted her and she just shut her mouth. Celestia had thought of everything. She had to admit, it even excited her a little. They estimated that with the limits on their budget it was going to take years to finish the Fury. Now the royal treasury was opened, and everything would be done by tomorrow. Their little hobby ship was going to be a part of Equestria's defense.
Besides, so long as they got Truth to safety it didn't matter what they did after that, right? They could help with the war if they played their cards right. And unlike last time, they would have a finished ship to do it with. "You should move the Fury to the courtyard," Twilight instructed. "And get ready. The shipwrights only know how to build Equestrian ships. They'll need your supervision."
Her friends nodded, thanked Twilight, and began to disperse. Chance promised she would catch up and waved them off, looking darkly up at Twilight. Just because they were in her mentor's castle didn't mean she couldn't be mad. The other thrones were empty, so she wouldn't be arguing with Twilight in front of her friends.
"I know what you're doing," Chance said, as darkly as she could. "This special assignment. I bet it was your idea, not Celestia's. To keep us out of danger."
Twilight shrugged, though the way she avoided looking into Chance's eyes was all the answer Chance really needed. So she went on "We're more useful on the front lines. We can take out a dozen dreadnaughts when the ship is put together, easy."
There was long silence. Twilight watched her, expression growing sadder with every moment. After a short time, she got up and walked past Chance, around the throne room. "While you were gone, there was a mission to the Dragon Capital Typhon. Not Equestrian ships. The mechanical humans had little metal ships that combined into one big one. Dozens and dozens of them."
"They had enough drones to make a carrier here? Overnight?"
Twilight nodded. She had stopped walking in front of one of the other thrones. Chance stopped beside her, looking down at the carved markings in its stone surface. This throne belonged to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash led a whole contingent of Royal Guard pegasi. They were supposed to show the enemy we had irresistible force on our side, so they would give up and leave us alone." She shook her head. "Only a few of those 'powerful' human ships made it back, along with maybe a dozen of the pegasi. None of the human pilots or the pegasi officers made it." A few tears fell from her eyes, landing on the stone. She turned fierce, and locked eyes with Chance. She hadn't ever seen Twilight Sparkle this intense, not in her whole life. "I won't let anypony else I love get hurt!"
* * *
There was nothing unexpected about the first wave of troops from the United Earth Federation. There was no covert infiltration, and no massive devices were brought through, nor was their arrival unexpected. Amber Sands stood ten meters or so away from a circle of unicorn of the Royal Unicorn Corps, with Twilight Sparkle at the head. It was night now, so she saw the glow of magic from each of them as they combined their strength. Amber knew little about magic compared to the pony she had been copied from, just enough to levitate objects while she was pretending to be a unicorn. She could make nothing of the ritual, though she didn't need to understand any of it to guess what they were trying to do.
There was no green lightning when the ritual completed, no explosions. Rather, the center of the circle became a source of light, which radiated brightly in all directions. Looking at it from below, Amber saw a high empty space, and a transparent ceiling beyond which was a grey waste.
Luna Prime, the capital of the Federation. Amber Sands remembered arriving there in her childhood, and spending several years in common education until she specialized and moved to secondary school on Luna 7. Of course those memories weren't really hers, but the further back the memories went the harder it was for Amber to consciously accept that they weren't real.
First through the opening was a woman in a white uniform with black trim, which reflected the light of Earth so well it seemed practically to glow. It was a dress uniform, not the thick armor of the Tower. She had dark brown hair in a bun behind her head, and harsh gray eyes like flecks of silver. The woman was well-built and confident, but the best thing about her was that she was alive. In a flash, Amber realized exactly who she was looking at.
"Fleet Admiral Alexi Colven, representing the United Earth Federation." She saluted to Twilight, though her stance was also significantly less rigid than a common soldier. Amber's hooves were frozen in place as she watched this exchange. Her sister was a fleet admiral? No, not her sister. Chance's sister. She could tell herself that all she wanted, but she couldn't stop the tears. After all this time, Alexi was okay! Something radical must've happened after officer's school if she had climbed to the pinnacle of the Federation's military.
"Do I have permission to begin landfall operations, as described in the terms of the Terran-Solar Accord?"
Princess Twilight was obviously doing her best to seem as princessly as possible, though she was still nearly a foot shorter than the human woman if you didn't count the horn. There was no fear this time. Admiral Colven carried no weapons, just a scroll and a cap under one arm. Twilight sounded as though she were reciting something she had memorized. "Equestria welcomes its allies under the terms of the accord."
The woman extended her arms with the hat and the scroll, which Twilight took. Some sort of naval ceremony, transferring the privilege of command? Amber didn't know. Even in her false memories she had been a scientist, not a soldier. "Very good. How long will the opening last?"
"One hour. We can always cast the spell again if that's not enough time."
"One hour will be more than sufficient. Can you get your people back from the entrance? I don't want any accidental injuries as we bring the hardware through." Twilight gestured, and the assembled ponies retreated from the opening towards the huge timber fence to the south. They did not dare move left, for not far in that direction would lead directly to the camp of the Steel Tower. Nor did they flee north, where the huge trees of the Everfree loomed like dark ghosts.
The Royal Unicorn Corps in their bright uniforms waited and watched as the allies they had actually invited began to arrive. Amber thought that this wouldn't be all that bad to watch, really. After the shock of the Tower drones and those tiny unliving bodies with their enormous strength, she supposed the ponies here probably thought they couldn't see anything more shocking.
Amber knew better. She remembered the ferocity of the Free People's Army well. It was not hard to remember, since her own brother and father had fought in it.
First through the opening came four soldiers, no larger than Alexi. Unlike the admiral they wore full combat-gear, with armored vests and weapons in their hands ready for use. One stepped forward and saluted to Alexi, while the other three surrounded them and spread out a little, forming a protective perimeter. When they spoke, it was in English. Amber still remembered what the words meant, even if it took much more concentration to understand than Equestrian.
"Bring them in, Sergent."
The man began to shout commands through the opening. The ground shook, and a pair of massive shapes emerged, vaguely humanoid shells of steel and hardened plastic. They had legs and arms, attached to an entirely enclosed torso, with feet easily the size of a pony. They sunk deep into the grass with each step, carrying an enormous plastic container between them. Another pair emerged from the opening, then another and another. When a dozen of the mechanized suits had passed through the barrier they began filing back into the opening, making trip after trip until they had piled up the plastic crates higher than many of the trees. Only then did the soldiers began to flow through the opening.
"Bring the bag, Sergeant," Twilight said, and Amber slid her neck under the hefty saddle-bags waiting by the fence and slid them on. She followed Twilight obediently towards the opening. None of the grass had survived, it was all dirt now, freshly turned by numerous mechanical feet. Amber followed her to the opening, and stood mere feet away from Admiral Colven. But she didn't say anything, not as Twilight opened the bag and began lifting little bracelets out one by one. They were small, but the magic flowing in each was immensely powerful. Twilight gave one to the admiral, and began levitating them to the soldiers as they passed in their formations. Each group of nine got nine of the bracelets, followed by an instruction from one of the human sergeants.
"Put this on immediately! Do not remove it under any circumstances." Amber had no idea what that could be about, but it was none of her business and she didn't ask.
The admiral towered over Amber, tall and proud and so young. Did Second Chance know her sister was going to be here for the arrival of Federation troops? It was hard to imagine Chance not wanting to see her only living family again. But why wouldn't they have told her? Wasn't she the Federation's official ambassador or something?
Amber squeaked a quiet, "H-hello," to Alexi at one point, but was not heard over the sound of so much activity and did not try a second time. She was here as a part of the Equestrian Royal Army now, not a lonely changeling with some false memories of a past that was never hers.
And besides, she was going to be here overseeing the new human city called Normandy long after Princess Twilight had gone. There would be other opportunities to talk, perhaps more privately.
Still, it was not the triumph of having such a large and powerful military fighting for Equestria that occupied Amber's thoughts. It was not imagining a swift victory and liberation of Los Pegasus. All Amber could think of for the rest of the night was whether this alien biped would have a place in her heart for a sister that she didn't know existed.
* * *
Critical Error - unit damage detected
Sys.left_arm critical failure
Sys.left_leg critical failure
Sys.transmission_suite critical failure
Sys.homeostasis critical failure
Sys.autorepair critical failure
Sys.matter_accelerator critical failure
Sys.micronuclear critical failure
Transmitting Damage Report
Transmission Failure
Attempting Self Repair
Repair Failure
Charles blinked into consciousness, face-down in the red dirt of a desert wasteland. He felt no pain, which was to his advantage. It was likely that if an organic human could have survived a situation like his, the pain of it would have sent them into shock at once. As it was he had nothing but a strange numbness where some of his limbs ought to be. He tried to push himself up, but found that only one of his arms responded, and instead of sit up he ended up pushing himself onto his back. It was dark above him, and for several long moments all he did was look up at the sky, watching the stars. This is it, he told himself. This is how I die.
Begin transmission through satellite network. He thought, King Richard-
Transmission hardware unavailable. Message failure.
He swore to himself and went back to watching the stars. Of course he didn't feel any discomfort, but laying here also didn't allow his body to naturally heal itself and make him feel better as it would have if he were organic. Not that an organic would have been very likely to survive. Is library system intact?
Yes.
Is the exterior speaker working?
Yes.
Begin playback from favorites list at "I Dreamed a Dream," he instructed. If he was going to slowly die here, he might as well enjoy it. And the body's speakers obeyed, producing the English words and soft piano of Old Earth. Charles watched the stars as they moved, moving his working arm close to his chest. The uniform had been shredded to pieces, but somehow the fragile-bracelet was completely intact on his wrist. He felt the links against his skin, then grunted and sat up. He would gain nothing from laying here stewing in his regret.
Sir Charles Gray sat in a puddle of cybernetic maintenance fluids, a creamy white that had mixed with the native dirt. The arm and leg on his right side had been completely severed, with wires and contacts exposed sickeningly. Limbs could sometimes be easily reattached, but it was immediately clear that neither was a clean enough break for that. Beside him in the dirt was the native captain, her armor scattered and broken by the impact.
Charles still remembered the fall. As it turned out, she had been far less able to fly than she had first thought, let alone with his weight. As they neared the earth, Charles had curled up around her with his body, calculating the fall perfectly so that he could absorb most of the impact and she would be flung free, bounced through the air like he was a spring. He had no conscious recollection after the fall though, and had no reason to suspect any organic could survive such a fall. Not even a Federation soldier with intensive Nanophage should've survived such an impact, nevermind what he had done to try and protect her. It had been foolish. Perhaps insane.
Yet as he watched, his visual sensors registered a faint stirring of breathing. Aside from her wings, it didn't seem as though she was so badly hurt. Could she be alive? Charles had to crawl to find the emergency pack, dragging himself through the mud by his one good arm and kicking with the leg. He took the bag in his teeth and crawled back toward Rainbow Dash, lying crumpled and unconscious. He sat up again, holding the bag under one leg as he opened the pack. All the while human music from an ancient past played quietly in the muddy clearing, to the sound of clicking plastic cases and the faint electronic whir of machines.
An entire half of the pack was occupied with the largest field-issue medical kit produced by the Tower, the sort with hardware and supplies for organics. This medkit had been brought along for just such a situation, since the only casualties they had expected were the natives. Once the medical probe was in place, the screen filled with the native's medical report.
It wasn't good. She had broken bones in one of her legs, an infection growing in one of her wings, cranial trauma, and damage to her internal organs. The medical program gave her an hour without intervention, and predicted she would not regain consciousness in that time.
Charles found that completely unacceptable. It didn't matter that she had made some absurd claims. It didn't matter that she had been obstinate and difficult. It wasn't even that she was important and powerful in Equestria. None of those things mattered. It would have been easy to lie back and close his eyes. They would both be dead soon enough. His transmissions weren't getting through, his own people would have no way of finding them. The damage to his body was so severe that it didn't seem like they could escape from behind enemy lines anyway. Death would be so easy.
But Charles would not accept it. Not for himself, for that was easy. Rather, he could not accept the idea of this person, this pony, dying right in front of him when he might have been able to do something. He had seen enough death for one day.
It was hard work with half his limbs missing, despite all the training he had in field medicine. It would have been far easier if he were with the Federation, accustomed and trained to heal organics. A few doses of a Nanophage tailored for pony biology and that would have been enough. But the Steel Tower, absolutely committed to the triumph of machinery over biology, had no medical gear that simply repaired damaged flesh the way the Federation did.
No, every medical device the Tower used replaced or supplemented the function of existing organs, never just repaired them. Once applied, they were not designed to be removed, only upgraded. Perhaps the native named Rainbow Dash would have objected to becoming partly cybernetic in order to survive. But even if she had been awake to object, Charles would've ignored her objections. She could take out her implants and die later if that was what she really wanted.
Charles had performed several "emergency-field-conversions" before, in the early days of the war when the Tower still had biological soldiers. First came the cortical recorder, complete with its supplemental processor that would allow a biological brain to control artificial implants. The recorder was quite small, a silvery disk about a fourth the size of his fist and weighing just a few ounces. Once applied to the place where the neck met the head, cortical fibers began snaking their way into her brain, interfacing with every important neural group. Eventually every cell would have a mechanical partner, recording every last connection in real time for the recorder.
Next came bone-hardening injections, which were incredibly difficult to administer accurately with only one hand. He managed quickly enough, and even while her bones were "healed" he set about the third portion of the task. A fist-sized implant called a Universal Bio-Regulator could supplement the functions of damaged internal organs. Charles knew little of how the implant worked, save that once he placed it just below her ribs it sliced its way through flesh and fur and burrowed inside like a benevolent beetle. Thank God this poor native was unconscious for all this.
He didn't watch the way her insides shifted, and looked away until the unit transmitted a ready signal. Only then did he close the wound with biosealent and begin the last portion of the treatment.
One of Rainbow Dash's wings was intact, with healthy feathers glistening under the moon. The other was an awful, disgusting sight. She was lucky she wore armor, or else her body might've been just as badly burned. The feathers had melted like wax, and the flesh had sloughed off in awful sheets. He could see bone in more than one place. This was probably the wound that was killing her, and it was miraculous she had survived at all.
"I'm really sorry about this." He sat up, and despite his missing limbs he did not sway. She did not reply, of course. He had used as much tranquiliser as was safe for her body-mass. She couldn't wake up, not now. "But if I don't amputate this wing, you're going to die before we get back to Equestria. If it makes you feel any better, the Federation can regenerate lost limbs pretty easily. If you really have an alliance with them, then they should be able to help. If not... we could always design a prosthetic wing with twice the strength of the old one." He gripped the laser-scalpel in his hand as he spoke. It was hardly the tool for the job, but it was the only tool he had. "I'm so sorry."
It took over an hour for Rainbow Dash to regain consciousness. During that time Charles had managed to use some of the cybernetic sealant to reattach his leg and lock it into an extended position. It would never function properly again, but at least if he found a walking stick or something he could probably walk. There was no point to do the same thing with the arm, since it would serve no practical purpose but weighing his body down.
By the time she woke up, Charles had heavily bandaged the stump of her wing, sealing it so that it could not become further infected. Were it not for the UBR, no doubt she would not have regained consciousness for hours more, if not days. But with a partially cybernetic brain and a bioreactor in her chest, one didn't have to wait for the natural processes to fully restore one to consciousness. He had not replaced what was left of her armor after he had finished with his field-medicine. Not only did Charles lack the dexterity with one arm, but Rainbow Dash would be too weak to take on all that extra metal weight. Of course he wished he had been wearing his own armor; perhaps with it he might have survived the fall without losing any of his limbs.
"I feel funny," was the first thing she said, her voice much lighter than it had been during their previous conversations.
"You're probably feeling the painkillers," Charles explained. "We crashed. I had to do some emergency first-aid."
"How bad was it?" She moaned, one of her hooves twitching. Then, in a show of enormous strength, she rolled sideways so her hooves were beneath her and rose to a wobbly standing position. Richard couldn't believe his eyes, and for several moments he just stared openly. This native had just been in a high-altitude crash, had an amputation, and been partially cyberized. Yet before three hours were up, before he could even voice his objections, she rose to her hooves.
"Bad enough you shouldn't be moving yet!" He reached out, trying to push her back down, but she pulled out of reach and just looked at him, with all the determination of a soldier. Many humans had faced much kinder fates with far less composure. "You would've been dead already if I hadn't used our medicine. Had to give you a cyber-controller, to fix the concussion and let you have other implants. It's mostly outside your body, you probably feel it on the back of your neck."
"And?" She was already wobbling less and less, her eyes becoming more awake. The cortical recorder would be doing its best to keep the pain down to a dull ache, though no doubt it was not fully integrated yet and would do an imperfect job.
"A hardening agent for your bones. That one you should hardly notice, just speeds healing and makes it so you don't need a cast. No maintenance, and those bones should never break again."
"And?"
He wilted. It was true that the interface in the recorder would eventually provide her with basic information about her implants and how they worked, but it should take at least a week before the network in her brain was developed enough to communicate anything with her conscious mind. "Internal damage, pretty bad. Gave you something to keep you alive inside until we can get you to a hospital. Encourage them to heal naturally. Hopefully you won't even need surgery when we get there."
"My wings." There was a weakness to her voice he hadn't heard from her, not since they had first met. It didn't sound very much like a military commander at all. Rather, it was a frightened young woman. A girl, who had seen something horrible and knew what it meant. "Dragonfire... right in the wing..." She made as if to stretch the right wing, muscles twitching on the base that remained. But there was nothing to bring before her face to inspect. No injury remained, because there was no longer a wing there at all.
Rainbow Dash looked at him for a long time, and in her eyes Charles could see such a sense of pain and loss as to defy his ability to describe. There were no tears, just a soul-crushing despair that made the pony's shoulders slump. "Yeah," was all she said, dropping onto her haunches. "I thought so."
I hope it doesn't take too long for Charles and Dash to get back to Canterlot, for both Dash and Twilight's sakes.
Infections take time to set in. How long were they out?
4824452
A wound can become infected in seconds, but Infection can take as little as 2 or 3 hours to show and certainly in 48 hours. Infection only gets worse until its treated. Charles did the right thing.
I wonder if Charles taking off the bracelet would turn him into a fully-healed pony? Might be important at some point during the long walk back to friendly territory.
So, since RD is going Borg on us..
Can SHE have an omni tool? I really like Omni Tools.
pegasus officers
Wait, all of the steel tower soldiers are cyborgs why can't they just detach the arm with the bracelet on it? I mean, the bracelet wouldn't technically be taken off the arm so no ponification.
... Soul rending terror is what this is. My god.
I almost feel sorry for any dragon Twilight faces, she's going to shove the Power of Friendship up their scaly behinds so hard it hurts! So Rainbow is a Ponyborg now... interesting. But her friends will be happy to see her.
4828078
Better to see a cybernetic RD than a corpse, not that she had much choice in the matter. I do have to wonder if the implants will get fried the next time RD gets lit up with lightning-- pegasi are naturally resistant to lightning but will that carry over to delicate implants? And with one Equestria hero 'saved' through cybernetics, will this pave the way to encouraging other 'common' ponies to accept alien prosthetics? Maybe not the cortical recorder but I can imagine simple limb replacement quickly adopted (much better than wooden pegleg or just hobbling around in a half-cart), more so if the prosthetics can replicate wings. Not sure about unicorn horns however as there's more to them than a stump of bone in a particular shape.
Also, it's time these changelings and dragons got shown just how scary humans (and former-human-cyborgs) can be at war. This far into the future, I really doubt the humans would have to play the nuclear option to make a big bang. I'd be sorely disappointed in this bunch of humans if they didn't learn real quick not to underestimate the enemy the next time two large forces meet. In fact, I'd almost say the next encounter will be such an overkill, to be so brutal, utterly ruining each and every changeling/dragon combatant to the very last that the ponies might start to regret aligning themselves with the human forces. And when humans really start getting into the bloodlust of war, taking the fight back to the homelands of dragon and changeling, will the ponies have the stomach to carry out genocide on a global scale? What of non-combatants or refuges that want to join the ponies or merely flee the war to live peacefully?
Allied forces comprised of magic wielding ponies, endless cyber drones, and mentally nimble humans should make for one hell of a dance party. Question is, how far are the Princesses willing to go with this. Peace is not an option, not with the current leaders of the Axis. And while it's easy to start making glass-lined craters (nukes or celestial bodies), dealing with the fallout (both literal and figuratively) ruining the rest of the land will be a bitter pill to swallow.
4828684 Magic Rail Gun. That's my solution. Start with a metal sphere they can etch spells into or something so it doesn't need a power source, then fire up the railgun to shoot it into a dragon.
4830621
Satellites armed with space lasers. Rainbow colored lasers.
Given the level of magnification we can achieve even today, I fully expect that the automated death satellites could establish that Outside = Sparkly Death for the changelings and dragons.
4832763 Railguns and rainbow laser satellites???? I mean, the satellites might need time to charge up and not be useful for smaller more agile targets or be in the right orbit.
4767131
If only someone could tell that to him. Unfortunately, he'll have to learn from the consequences of bias the hard way. As he's already started to do.
4767324
Well, he's on the way so far. Still got a way to go, though. Still, what story would be fun if every character was faultless? Charles is a good kid, I created him to be. He's honest and caring and hard-working. But he's also burdened by all the biased and intolerance of his culture. He'll have to overcome those if he expects to be truly great.
4767731
I really do keep trying to quit. I keep trying. I wanted to just write one story and be done. One story that said it was okay to be human and that we weren't really so different from any imaginary pony creatures that we had invented for ourselves. I did that, and... now I can't stop. I've got lots of other ideas now, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop myself from writing them. Of course there's the one I'm well on the way to finishing, but there are others. Not sure if any of them will ever see the light of day. A TCB-universe short about a genetically engineered orphan during the last few years of earth. My own take on "Bronygeadon." A midquel devoted to Amber Sands and how she copes with being a lone changeling in a pony society. A story about the rest of Chance's life and how she fits into the immortal life of her teacher. I'm not sure if any of these other ideas will ever see the light of day, but I rather hope they will. Even if the time they'll all take to write will be quite enormous.
4768093
I do appreciate the support, I really do. The voice of those who have been with me all this time is really encouraging. You're not the only one, but you're one of the ones that's been here this whole time, and I appreciate the fact that you're still reading. Despite all the mistakes and imperfections in my writing, the story goes on. Free will; not sure if we'll ever really know if it exists. We all act like it does, though. We've got to.
4791047
Oh, I have no doubt about that. Much smack will be had. In the very near future, I think.
4793206
It's been said already, but that's Chance's perspective. She still has some anachronistic thought-processes every now and then.
4796824
^^. Things have to get worse before they get better.
4790015
Yep, that's exactly who that was. At least she isn't dead. Too bad she doesn't get some layup time in a hospital somewhere to read more daring do.
4798035
I have no doubt they won't make those mistakes again. Underestimating the enemy. Of course, the dragons made the same mistake with Canterlot. Mistakes all around. Can't say I know who screwed up worse though.
4824384
They're working on it! I mean... if they survive. By no means is that a sure thing. At least I'm not George R.R. Martin. But then, I'm not sure I have the right to just go and kill characters wholesale the way he does.
4824452
This has already been said, but the idea is that the medical technology is so advanced that it can detect an infection at the early stages, before it's more than a few hundred thousand bacterial cells. Treat it before it actually becomes a medical issue.
Of course, it doesn't take advanced medical science to tell you that a severely burned and necrotic limb is likely to develop an infection requiring amputation. We don't need implants to tell us that.
4824557
That is an interesting question. I won't answer it though, because I think the story will do that before too long. If they don't die, anyway.
4826185
The settlement was named the Normandy! Granted, that name has all sorts of layers of meaning, but... unfortunately, the technology they're missing is the hard light we see in the Omni-tool. Neither faction can create solid holograms. On the other hand, it's quite possible that something techno-magical could be arranged to do that, since unicorn magic /can/ create things. The real question is to what degree techno-magic has been developed during the last decade.
4827326
I don't think Celestia would've arranged for the creation of spells that could be tricked by technicalities. In my mind, spells can know intent in ways that computer programs don't. If he had had his arm severed involentarily, like in the crash, it probably would not have triggered. But if he had popped it off, the way any cyborg could at will for a serviceing or a replacement, I'm sure that would could, because it was willful and knowing. Allowing someone else to cut it off... I'm not sure. I don't think this story will ever answer either of those questions, really. That's just not what it's about.
4827922
I am become death...
4828078
Happy to see her alive in any case. I'm sure she'll take the first opportunity to get real organs regrown... when the Federation is there enough to help her do it, I mean. Doesn't seem like that level of medical infrastructure will be around for awhile. And of course, she has to get back to civilization first.
4828684
A succinct and accurate summary of the stakes, and the powers on the table. It seems to me that the natives of Equuis never really knew war. It's true they've had brutal and bloody conflicts. Some nations, in my mind, are constantly internally feuding. But even these... Dragons, Minotaurs, maybe Gryphons too (not sure)... they strike me more like the nobility of medieval Europe. The war is really just a sport for them. This present conflict obviously isn't, but... for the majority of their world, it seems that's the conflicts they know. Meaningless quarrels over the honor of one clan or another, fought mostly by disposable semi-sentients like goblins whose life and death has little meaning.
Humanity is not that way. Throughout our history we have learned and re-learned the awful realities of war. We have charged headlong into machine-guns and died like dogs. I don't think those on Equuis have any concept of what human adversaries can be. Whether wearing cybernetic costumes or the body-enhancing nanotechnology, the human spirit is exactly the same. I think Equestria will have cause to regret unleashing mankind on their enemy.
4830621
No reason that can't happen. Actually, I'm really interested to see what happens when they figure out that magical levitation can effectively "nullify" the mass of an object. NASA would kill to be able to do that to our ships.
4832763
Also quite possible. I have no doubt Earth has such a system. I guess the question is whether the resources are avalable to build something like that in Equestria. The problem with this war... the reason there's even a chance that equestria and humans wouldn't win, is because humanity's resources were completely exhausted by the war on earth. Not like earth is an empty husk or anything... obviously the metals and stuff didn't go anywhere... but the amount of working ships, the size of the fleets, the number of soldiers that could be mobalized... not many in recent years. When the war ended in an armistice, both sides cocentrated on survival. The amount of military hardware they can bring to bare is quite limited compared to what earth could've done before the war. In those days, the Dragons wouldn't have even had a shred of a chance. Now though... can they get factories up and running before they run out of bullets? Can they build refineries before they run out of fuel?
Probably. We're very good at the whole "planning" thing. But I doubt they've got laser death-satellites sitting around just waiting to be launched. Those don't strike me as the sort of thing an OMICRON Core could just print out over a weekend.
4833083
Ah, I see. I didn't think the robots would have built-in medical suites, since they've been kicking around on a planet devoid of life for so long.
If an infection hasn't set in in an injury then an infection can be prevented. It's difficult, but I'd expect them to have biosealant foam with hunter-killer nanites to keep wounds clean and clear.
I'm kinda surprised the medkit doesn't have some kind of cryogenic bag to keep severed body parts fresh; that's been a military research goal since cryogenic preservation was conceived of.
New chapter
I'm late for it
Its great
... then theres this
And I don't know about this
...A (no '+' for Twilight useing hands... but no '-' for the other one)
...and heres a Derpy, because reasons
Keep up the good work
...Did I mention I tecnicaly haven't sleept in three days upon writing this
4833197
The UEF definitely has that technology, I don't doubt it in the least. The Tower has very limited access to nanotechnology, however. Both factions have completely stupid and pointless restrictions that prevent them from using each others technology. Nothing prevents them from getting it... but ethically the Tower wishes to rise as far above humanity as possible by leaving as much of the human body behind, so letting an organ rot is no loss in their minds. Meanwhile, the Federation has this stupid and pointless artificial view that its okay to add new parts internally, but replacing any of the parts they have makes them less human, and so they have almost no cybernetic technology, even the cortical records that could grant them clinical immortality. These stupid views were imposed on them both by Outside sources, hobbling the growth of both sides.
The only reason the medkit had anything at all to treat organics (and little else, unfortunately for Charles) was that the people planning the mission thought there was no chance of the human pilots being injured, but a very good chance some ponies would. They brought along medical tech they had been adapting ever since Clover the Clever briefly showed up in order to "help" the injured ponies. Naturally the real purpose was also political, because any injured ponies would be partly cybernetic from then on, a very visual advertisement for their way of life. Of course, even if anti-infection nanites /were/ in that medkit, that wouldn't save dash's wing. When more than a certain percentage of any portion of the body is burned, there are numerous other concerns to worry about. The organ would have certainly turned necrotic and poisoned her blood before a week was out, to say nothing of the pain of having it still be attached.
4833251
Both of those mistakes fixed. I'm surprised those hands slipped through the editing process. I didn't run my usual search though, so it's my fault in the end. Also, you should seriously sleep. Staying up for so long is in no way healthy.
4834716 Oh I have been sleeping, just not getting much rest out of it, let me explain.
During the days around when the moon is full I don't enter proper... REM sleep, I think its called?... I DO sleep, I just don't get enough 'sleep' out of it, so after a few days I can get a bit... weird, CURSE YOU MOON!!!... sorry Luna
So yeah, its important to sleep, almost as important as bacon... mmm bacon...
4833083
More likely the ponies will regret it, that is, introducing an invasive predator species. These advanced humans are the nuclear option in what used to be a conventional war. The looming question now is how far is Celestia will to allow this rabid dog off the chain now that it's gotten a whiff of blood, it's own. Heck, if allowed to run rampant long enough, Chrysalis might come begging to Celestia to call off the humans. Same with the dragons. Higher beings like Discord and Nightmare Moon won't care since entropy and chaos are their ends and humans are very much the means.
There's no Geneva policy, aside from the morals carried by the two factions of humans, to hold them back from getting mercilessly efficient (with the changelings and dragons being so different from other species, it makes the job of extermination all the easier). Take out the stops and you end up with all sorts of nightmarish classes of weapons; chemical, biological, nanotechnological. Each one increasingly tailored to sort out other living creatures and focus on just the enemy.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how you let this play out.
4834716
Oh, I wasn't criticizing the decision to amputate, just talking shop. The wing would almost certainly be a total loss even if they were right inside a Tower hospital, after all. But keeping the hope of reattachment alive would make RD a lot easier to handle on the way home.
Now, we wait and see how long it'll be before Truth spots that rainbow hair on satellite.
Hmn, so the plan is to turn the Fury into a mobile carrier for Truth? Not a bad idea.
And holy crap, Chance's sister.
And holy crap x2, cybernetic Dash.
i.imgur.com/IZL7FMa.png
SAD.
I think you meant Charles in this spot