Dueling Keyboards

by FanOfMostEverything

Scientific Kirinquiry

Author's Note:

This is a sequel to Sharktavia i: Sharktavia Evolved, which means it's set on the Ravnica seen in The Implicit Neighs. There will be spoilers for both if you haven't read them.

Ravnica, the City of Guilds, was an urban center the size of a planet. Managing that ecumenopolis was a delicate political, logisticial, and magical balance of ten guilds seeing to the needs of both citizens and structures while vying for power with both one another and the recently released alicorns who were doing their utmost to make the voices of the unguilded heard. Given that those mares had the sun and moon as leverage, they were doing a pretty good job of it.

Of course, negotiations between guilds didn't just take place in the halls of power. The entire plane thronged with interguild conflicts, from calculated snubs to scrawled graffiti to open warfare in the cavernous undercity.

"No."

And, most often among the pony population, in relatively friendly arguments.

"It doesn't have to be a very large tissue sample!" said Lyra Heartstrings, galloping after Ravnica's only kirin along the broad path of the Transguild Promenade, both weaving around other creatures of all shapes and sizes. Lyra's turquoise robes clung closer to her, partly because of speed and partly because the membranes were startled.

"I said no," said Twilight Sparkle, cloven hooves hitting the paving stones hard enough that a passing Gruul shaman gave a grudging nod of approval at the disdain towards civilized structures. "I don't care how uninvasive, how minor, or how much you could learn. The deal when I borrowed your guild signet was that I get first dibs on researching what I've become, and I'm not done yet!"

Lyra gritted her teeth. Her tail lashed, all three feet of it, and the humanoid hand grafted on the end snapped. Ooze coated her hooves, the same color as them, letting her skate in front of Twilight. As both skidded to a halt, Lyra jabbed a finger in Twilight's muzzle and cried, "You've said you haven't been done for months! What more could you be researching? You're not even a biomancer!"

Twilight snorted, the assorted brass instruments that were as much a part of her outfit as her blue and red robes clattering as she moved at a more sedate pace side by side with Lyra. "Hey, the Laboratory of Psychomancy deals with living creatures just as much as you do. Besides, it's my body. I'm still making new discoveries on a daily basis." She lit up her antler for a moment. "Do you have any idea what this has done for my pyromancy?"

"Oh. Wow. Splicing you with dragon genes improves your fire magic. What an earth-shaking revelation." Lyra poked Twilight in the shoulder. "You do realize that just one shed scale would let us work in parallel, right?"

"Be that as it may, I'm not comfortable with being the subject of another guild's research quite yet."

"Really? Really?" Lyra tilted her head back and groaned. "Come on, Twilight, we went to magic kindergarten together."

That just got a blank look. "We did?"

Lyra rolled her eyes. "You've been like this ever since you helped Minuette with her time reversal experiments."

"Who?"

"Exactly." Lyra sighed. "Okay, fine, what will it take for just a tail trimming or something?"

Twilight hummed to herself. "Well, what are you offering?"

"Considering what I'll get for biodata from a literally new species? The sky's the limit." After a moment, Lyra added, "As long as it's not a date with that cute confectioner on Foundry Street. I've got my eye on her, especially if she's open to a few minor augmentations."

"I can't honestly say I'm unbribable, but I can't think of anything specific."

"Oh, come on! You're a never-before-seen sapient. There must be something the city's failing to provide."

Twilight opened her mouth several times without saying a word, shaking her head every time. But eventually, she allowed a "Well..."

---

Flash Sentry looked around, not entirely sure how he'd gotten in this mess. Bad enough that he was sitting in a Simic-made pod that smelled like mushrooms and antiseptic. He looked longingly at his armor through the green-tinted walls, then turned to the mare who'd brought him here. "Uh, Sarge? Remind me again what I'm doing here?"

"Interguild cooperation," said Rainbow Dash. She saluted him with a wing, but the smirk on her face hadn't moved an inch. "Good luck!"

The mare next to her with way too much tail snorted at that. "There's no luck in biomancy. Just novel mutations." Her grin took on the demented angle Flash had seen in way too many other unicorns as she moved to a squishy-looking control panel. "Let's see if we get some."

"Is this legal?" said Flash.

"Very technically!" the biomancer cried right before pulling a big lever.

Comments

[Thought Prism]

"Really? Really?" Lyra tilted her head back and groaned. "Come on, Twilight, we went to magic kindergarten together."

That just got a blank look. "We did?"

Lyra rolled her eyes. "You've been like this ever since you helped Minuette with her time reversal experiments."

"Who?"

I like this explanation WAY better than the 'oh I kinda just forgot about these other friends I had for multiple seasons' we received in the show. Doesn't hurt that it's referencing a top tier piece of flavortext.

[hawthornbunny]

It is so good to see Ravnica again, even briefly ^^

As long as it's not a date with that cute confectioner on Foundry Street.

Oh yes, that earth pony merchant who definitely has no Dimir connections whatsoever

[jqnexx]

Was Twilight's request to get flash out of the way?

[vladspellbinder]

11001473
I think the "need" that The City isn't meeting might have something to do with Twlight always being on fire and how her higher tempature might be something of a problem in some particular private matters.

[Lurks-no-More]

11001473
I believe Flash is volunteering to be a part of an experiment to create a cute male kirin companion for Twilight!

[FredMSloniker]

11001410
Which card are you talking about?

[FanOfMostEverything]

11001410
This is Twilight we're talking about. She'd forget her own brother if he weren't attached. Which is why she never mentioned him until his wedding.

11001414
I hadn't even considered the possible Dimir angle there. Which goes to show how good of an agent Bonbon is.

11001473
As 11001859 noted, it's lonely being the only member of your species on the planet.

11005999
The Return to Ravnica version of Inspiration.

[Malandy]

Nice! I must've missed the email about this!

...

And Lyra was the one who brought up romance, so this makes sense. So it's not even Twilight that picked him, it's Rainbow? Interesting...