15: Concerns of Tomorrow
The Queen of Planning herself had done it! Together with Gentle Touch and her civic planners they leveraged the life out of every last bit that Cadista had granted her. The economy of Phoenix’s Roost was getting the booster shot it so desperately needed. Between numerous purchases of building materials, food, and enough coal to keep her merchant fleet operational for the year, Twilight’s planning would start making dividends within six months.
Most importantly to the queens, egg production was back into full blast. A term Rainbow Dash found most amusing.
At the moment, Twilight was ‘marinating’ a clutch as she walked into her alchemy lab. Much to her surprise, she found Aegis studying her notes on Rasua’s forelimbs. The purple princess had not gone so far as to break out any reagents or pull out the glass-bound arrays though. “So, you finally have something to make you interested in alchemy?”
Aegis dropped the scrolls and buzzed over to nuzzle her queen-mother. Several drones started filtering into the room behind Twilight. Aegis greeted each of them good morning before refocusing on Twilight. “If you made Aunty learn alchemy, then it’s only fair to Blitz that I do the same.”
“Uh huh, and this sudden desire wouldn’t stem from the prospect of hands, would it?” Twilight replied with sly narrowed eyes.
“Hey, it worked with Aunty and her wings.” Aegis shrugged while grinning sheepishly up at her mother.
“Ha! Well, let’s see if I can instill more interest beyond just hands by the time we’re done. Come along, and take notes on everything. I roped in all of mother’s alchemists so we should cut down on research time with this many minds.”
“Where is Gramma anyway?”
Twilight aura and voice became rigidly neutral. “She had some things to take care of before she scrambled herself.”
The fires over Stripped Gear were long gone. The once glorious and proud techno-city sat in utter ruin with heavy columns of steam and ash drifting from cracks in the ground as the caldera stirred at a lethargic rate. Lava bubbled up after overwhelming the subterranean crystal factory and oozed up through the sewers. It would not be too long before the volcano reclaimed what it owned.
For a hive that was completely ruined and a ticking time bomb for an eruption, Stripped Gear was not abandoned. Cadista walked through the broken buildings and corpse covered streets. Clouds of carrion birds and insects blanketed the whole area even though the feast of flesh was winding down.
Even the Day of Mourning could not completely heal the wounds upon her heart. She refused to dwell on it however. If I start thinking about any of this… I don’t know if I could summon the will to leave alive.
A mountain of broken brass and steel towered in front of Cadista who stopped a few blocks away from it. She could make out various balconies, her old quarters, and even the receiving hall where Celestia first met Twilight after her rebirth. I should recreate that room in a crystal. That at least needs to be remembered.
Thankfully, Cadista’s destination was not in the palace itself, but the adjacent hatchery. The angle at which the palace collapsed gave her hope that the object of her search wasn’t buried under tons of rubble.
The hatchery entrance was rather nondescript by design with just a slightly larger than normal iris door. Ghosts of the past haunted Cadista’s vision. She could almost see the Honor Guard still standing in front of the now ruined door that had been compromised by the collapse.
Cadista carefully avoided the twisted metal around the entrance before stepping into the darkened downward slanted corridor. The palace’s destruction had cracked the ceiling in several places, but nothing looked like it was on the brink of imminent collapse. Instead it was the nose burning volcanic gasses which worried Cadista more than anything. Damn, the nursery is the lowest point of the hatchery. If I had waited any longer to come here, I don’t think even a heat suit would keep me from cooking...
Luckily Cadista had prepared for this. She wore a silvery full body suit with cooling runes and enchantments draping every square inch of it. She opened her saddle bag and pulled out a gas mask and donned it quickly. Bringing up a flashlight, Cadista hobbled on three legs through the low ceiling passageway into the hatchery beyond. To think my height is now a detriment.
A wandering thought nagged at her that she should have puppeted a drone for this. No. I have to do this in person.
It didn’t take long to arrive at the abandoned hatchery. The once well lit room now had several dim lights crowding the walls and ground.
Now that she was no longer in the tight corridor, Cadista could look out into the vast chamber. The glass tubes that had bore eggs for generations were mostly smashed and broken with only a few escaping destruction.
Ruptured steam pipes and dislodged gears blanketed the walls and ground below. Errant sounds bounced around the room from a handful of chitin bound drones scavenging the area with light spells guiding their greedy eyes.
Cadista’s ire surged at the extent to which the ground-floor air vents and pipes had been broken open by the careless drones. Figures. Even if these strains can survive this heat, not many reagents could. A look at some of the drones revealed several bladders along their legs and barrel that contained the spoils. Well, if they’re so content to steal from me, it’s only right I return the favor.
Cadista noted that several flights of stairs were still intact and crept down them as quietly as possible on three legs. The half dozen thieves were too focused on eating the reagents, filling their bladders with anything of worth. As soon as Cadista got close to the ground, she mentally latched onto each drone without their notice. ... Strange, I can’t tell what queen they belong to. Looks like somepony is learning how to better hide their hive signature. Either way, I better subvert them before she realizes I’m here.
Since the suit and ambient heat made pheromone use impossible, Cadista summoned up a massive burst of psionic power. She blasted into the six drones’ minds and quickly severed them from their hive mind. <You belong to me now.>
The thieves gathered in a circle around Cadista and genuflected. <Command us, our queen.> While Rainbow Dash would have needed to use her pheromones, Cadista’s ancient will was more than enough to dominate six non-puppeted drones. Not exactly sure what to do with these husks when I leave. Killing them might be suspect, and I don’t want anypony thinking I was here.
Leaving the problem for later, Cadista indicated to an intact door off to the western end where the nursery was. <I need that door open. The quicker the better.>
Without a word, the six drones leveled their horns at the door and blasted the door. All the attack did was char the paint.
Cadista shook her head in annoyance. <Yep, your mothers keep you as stupid as ever. Try something else.> The six fired off a deep freeze spell and then started ramming the door to break it. A good try, but the hatchery doors won’t weaken under freezing temperatures. <Stand aside. Actually, go keep gathering alchemy reagents.> No point in letting them just stand there uselessly.
Cadista sensed the metal was starting to grow hot from the magma below, but not quite to the point where the gears should be compromised. The cold should have worked. I guess the door construction was better than I remember. Fortune smiled upon her as Cadista worked her magic to crank the gears manually after disengaging the lock.
She only waited until the door was half open before squeezing through into the nursery. “Glad this room’s vents and pipes were all along the ceiling.” Cadista checked her suit for damage before looking for the spot where Twilight Sparkle’s chrysalis had been located.
The chrysalis’ location had been completely deliberate. Half of that was because this was the spot where Yumia and Cadista had always rebirthed themselves. The other half lay in the floor. Cadista leaned down on stiff joints. Between the staples keeping some of her stitches in place, and the gauze still wrapped around her chest, it took supreme effort to not only dissipate her pain across the hive mind, but to do so without Twilight finding out. She doesn’t need to know I’ve been here until I return.
Cadista scanned the steel plated floor with her magic and found a latch that responded only to her magical hoofprint. She pulled the plate off to find a grey urn with a sealed cover. It was a rather plain object with a single handle on one side and a stylized gear imprint. Yumia. I would never be able to rest unless our ashes were scattered together.
A shuddering sob shook Cadista to her bones as she held the urn as tight as she dared. “You watched over Twilight when she became one of us. Thank you for protecting her against the formless beast of her wandering dreams. It is only right that you protect Blitz during her rebirth.” A small bit of mirth crept into her mind. Aegis had Burny to keep her safe after all.
Cadista tucked the urn into a padded section of her saddlebag and turned to leave. Not wanting to stay in the shattered ruins of her multi-lifelong home lest it rob her of all will to live. Cadista departed the hatchery and made towards the waiting gunship beyond the hive’s walls. The commandeered drones obediently trailing behind their new mistress.
Even so, that didn’t stop her from taking one last look at Stripped Gear once she reached the lip of the caldera. Kreesus. Do I listen to my heart or do I listen to Twilight’s in how I should deal with you?
One of the drones caught her eye, making her scowl. “Well, at the very least you six will make excellent alchemy subjects after we pry some secrets out of you. Who knows, you might make good intelligent drones some day.”
“We live by your will, our queen,” they replied in perfect unison.
Cadista groaned. “I can barely stand six of you doing that. I don’t know how the other queens can actually enjoy such mindless children. Come along then.”
It took some wheeling and cajoling, but Cadista finally got Twilight to stop nagging her about going back to the jungle without having to play the ‘recovering my soulmate’s ashes’ card. It helped that Cadista was able to present six able and willing alchemy subjects, especially since Twilight was loath to do such testing on her intelligent children.
Cadista hobbled through the hatchery of Phoenix’s Roost with her soulmate’s urn wrapped in silk. A few caretakers flittered to and fro; making sure each cocoon’s occupant was in good health and topped off with love. There was a rhythmic order to it all that surpassed even Cadista’s cadre of caretakers.
I’ll tell her the real reason I went back home later when she won’t feel so guilt ridden about not getting to my hive quickly enough to save it.
Cadista passed all the way through to the nursery. She had expected to have to call a caretaker to lower Blitz’s chrysalis from the upper racks, but as it turned out, it was down on the ground floor. She startled a little to find Aegis curled up in front of Blitz’s pod reading a thick notebook. Shouldn’t she be at the marshaling yard doing ballet with Burny?
Keeping the urn secured in her saddlebag, Cadista limped forward and drew Aegis’ attention in the process. “Studying your mother’s alchemy notes, I see.”
Aegis jumped to hind legs with a quick wing buzz. “Hey, Gramma! You caught me. I just wanted to keep Blitz company while I studied.”
Cadista smirked and shook her head. Still doesn’t have any forbearance towards me. She’s gotten even worse since becoming a princess. I blame her mother. “Strange what it takes to get you to sit and study.”
“Yeah… well.” Aegis turned back to Blitz’s pod. “While I work with Mom at night, I like to spend my mornings down here with Blitz. She’s going to be my other half after all. I can’t wait till she wakes up so I can link my mind directly with her, ya know, instead of mom and Aunty being a proxy between us.”
Cadista hummed contemplatively at the bipedal princess. “And what does ‘other half’ mean to you, young one?”
“Exactly that,” Aegis deadpanned. She leaned gently against Blitz’s pod, letting her love for her passively feed her counterpart. Cadista’s disapproving eye gave Aegis the creeps. Gramma wants more than a simple explanation. “Well, we’ve all seen how wound together momma and aunty are. They flow around each other like water, catching problems the other misses. Although sometimes I think they do that on purpose, overlook things that is, to leave problems the other is better at dealing with. Whenever they’re in the same room they talk in unison a lot, sometimes whole speeches. It’s really cool.
“I like to think that mom and aunty have become two hemispheres of a single brain. I want to be like that with Blitz as quickly as possible. Maybe before we even become proto-queens.”
Cadista was assailed by old memories of Yumia. I see. So I was right. When two queens share a single hive and love each other as Yumia and I did, they reach a heightened level of understanding between them. Though perhaps brain hemispheres is a bit much.
“Well I’m glad to see you taking care of your counterpart.” Cadista pulled out the urn and gently removed the cloth before showing it to Aegis. She drew up enough composure to keep her voice level as Aegis inspected the urn from afar. “These are Yumia’s ashes. It was her last wish to watch over the love producing daughter, your mother, our efforts would eventually create.”
“Oh,” Aegis replied awkwardly and fluttered her wings out of anxiety. “I guess it worked since mom turned out to be a pretty solid queen, am I right?”
If Cadista caught onto Aegis nervousness, she made no show of it. “I like to think Yumia would be happy to watch over another princess. After all, you can’t stay down here in the nursery all the time.”
“But isn’t she already watching us from the Silver City?”
Cadista nodded as she hobbled over to sit next to Aegis. “She is. I guess I’m just a sentimental old mare.”
“Well…” Aegis scuffed her hoof on the resin floor. “If you really think Yumia would be willing to watch over Blitz I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Cadista couldn’t help but to smile at Aegis’ stalwart protection of Blitz. It was more than just innate loyalty shared by all those of the same hive. It was real love that came from Blitz choosing to be her life-long companion with her only hesitation being whether or not she was the correct choice for Aegis. That is the bedrock for what should follow for centuries to come. “It might do nothing,” Cadista admitted. She noticed a maintenance panel behind Blitz’s cocoon and popped it open. There was just enough space for the urn. “But I like to think Yumia’s presence here is meaningful.”
Aegis watched Cadista’s reverent actions with sorrow. “She must have been the world to you.”
Cadista lovingly rubbed the urn before closing the panel. “She was.” Cadista turned to give Aegis a warning look. “Bonded queens are strong together… but when ones dies.” Cadista debated on whether or not she should tell the truth. She affixed Aegis a stern gaze. “Part of the survivor dies with her.”
“If that's true... then all this time it must have been very hard on you.” Aegis hugged her grandmother to try and cheer her up. “Depression isn’t healthy to suppress you know.”
“Perhaps.” Cadista gave a quick hug in return before taking to the air. “Just make sure of one thing, Aegis. You are the soldier, and Blitz the scholar. Protect her, Aegis, do what I could not.”
“Ha, you don’t even need to tell me once! Blitz’ll never be hurt so long as I’m at her side.” Aegis clenched her metal fist and stared at Cadista with burning passion. “Believe it!”
Ventras sat the head of his audience chamber going over a written proposal of new zoning legislation to accommodate the flood of immigrants. A collection of half-finished letters he was writing to the Federal government were scattered on the conference table, though most of them just required his final signature. Between him and Thaddeus, the pair had written all of the necessary process reports and made sure taxes were collected and waiting for the currently docked naval ship to end shore leave before sending the letters and tax money back to the homeland.
However, one letter in particular was for the Council of Thirteen itself. Even as his read the rezoning proposal, the council letter was still at the forefront of his mind. I need funds to buy whatever tech the changelings are willing to part with, and some they’re not. Luckily, the Alliance values gold, unluckily, I need more solid evidence outside of a single display of power. Otherwise I’ll never sell it to the council to fund purchasing fire weapons. After all, every tom has his price.
In the mean time, I might be able to scrounge up enough funds to buy a shuttle of theirs at least. Anything to give some insight into an aerial navy.
Ventras’ review over the legislation halted when he heard the main doors open and the blizzard outside dusted the whole floor with snow. The frigid cold blasting its way inside before the guards could close it. Thaddeus marched in from the cold with a face to match as he scanned the few gathered politicians seated around the table. He turned to the court spell-dancer who was waiting in attendance. “Heldera, we require a privacy screen.”
“As you wish, Majordomo.” It was a common request, so Heldera already had the necessary scrolls prepared. She held one hand on one of the scrolls and had the other open towards Ventras and the Thaddeus. “Prying eyes and straining ears are trouble, so protect those here and make it double.” Everyone save the spell-singer and two of Ventras’ most trusted guards left for the west wing out of traditional courtesy to continue their work.
A slight sheen enveloped the room and coalesced around the governor and majordomo. To anyone else, anything the pair said would be gibberish along with their mouth movements being desynchronized with what they were really saying.
“I hope you bear news from my daughter.”
“I do, in fact, although the news is beyond troubling, and yet intriguing all the same.” Thaddeus produced two envelopes. The first bore a broken wax seal of her family crest with the second bearing the intact mark of the Sestapo. “These changelings are far more dangerous than I ever thought possible.”
Ventras furrowed his brow, and took the letters and started reading the one meant for him.
Dear Father, and Oath-brother who always reads my father’s mail.
I have been well treated as far as I can tell. My needs are met, and I have been given time to acclimate to their society. But I will not waste paper on needless details.
Your concerns were accurate. These changelings have psykers after all, but the problem is that they ARE ALL PSYKERS!
Yes, every last one of them has at least some measure of psychic ability ranging from the most common capabilities of empathy and intraspecies communication to outright psionic attacks on account of the royal caste. You must be careful when dealing with any changeling diplomat or traders outside of a muton damping field because even their weakest members can get a read on your emotions. Fortunately for diplomacy, I expect any diplomat to have an understanding of that precaution, and that those fields don’t interfere with their seemingly limitless communication range. I must warn you, father, that the worst part is that these psionic abilities are so pervasive among their kind that they seem to have no code of conduct regarding the use of these abilities, and use them on an almost minute by minute basis.
Ventras’ hand was shaking from a mix of utter horror and, heaven help him, morbid curiosity in equal measures. “By the Eternal Cycle. My little huntress is stuck in the middle of a nest of psykers!?”
“Aye, my lord. We are blessed to have been born in our… liberal province. I think that alone kept her sane. As for these pskyer changelings, I can only hope that their royal family follows some moral code akin to the Psykira. At the very least, far more than our imperial families did.”
Ventras brooded over the first contact visit. “…Queen Twilight Sparkle showed restraint in demonstrating her ship’s destructive power until my ignorance forced her hand. I can only hope they show similar self-control with their psionics as well.”
“That hope is all we have,” Thaddeus replied with deep concern coloring his tone. “Or else she could be their mind puppet when and if she returns. This letter might be censored if she is already under their influence.”
Ventras reclaimed the envelope and sighed in relief at finding two pin feathers within. One was completely covered in soot while the other had red dye on it. “No. At least not yet. The wording and these feathers tell me her will hasn’t been compromised. Her training would have allowed her some measure of protection from being fully enslaved.”
Thaddeus could only hope his old friend was correct.
As mentioned previously, the changelings have no psionic regulation to speak of. Princess Aegis Altair described their reasoning as if we were to regulate the use of our hands. Psionics are such an integral part of their lives that their society would break down without it. And before you try, I have attempted to suppress Aegis’ psionics with my apprenticeship medallion, with her cooperation of course. But our methods only seem to deny them their empathy, not the intraspecies communication.
Ventras cooed at that little tidbit. “So not only can our towers block their empathy, but suppression medallions can do that as well. That might explain why the two queens always seemed to hesitate a little every time before speaking.”
“I thought that as well, Ventras. Though she never states as much in her letter, I fear greatly for Rasua. Being around all those psykers will undoubtedly diminish the dampening effect of her medallion. As far as I know, the Sestapo doesn’t test its low level members for psionic abilities.”
“Yes, I’m sure my daughter is well aware of that as well,” Ventras replied worriedly. “I’ll have extra dampeners sent to her.”
The other bit of information I have is that the Deception is as destructive as we feared. On our way to the changeling city, we were summoned as reinforcements to a besieged ally. Upon arrival we were beset by hundreds of thousand hostile changelings.
They are a highly divided people.
These changelings were very different from those who hail from Phoenix's Roost. These were more like insects. Clad in chitin and apparently possessing a complete lack of self-preservation. They threw themselves into the warship’s weapons en masse, and were slaughtered wholesale. I still think our own lightning cannons could have performed far more favorably against so many unprotected fliers.
However, even with such destructive power, the hostile changelings nearly overwhelmed us twice. You would be proud to know that I assisted in repulsing both assaults with our final victory in the skies being only possible because of my actions. For that, I have garnered an extreme amount of respect. Even if Princess Aegis Altair fails to act like it.
Ventras was caught between being troubled by such a numerous enemy that could overwhelm such a mighty warship, and intense pride in his daughter bringing honor to family and nation alike. Well done, my little huntress. I will have to make sure to send some of those Grecian Delights that she loves so much.
Oddly enough though, it seems the Deception is the only large warship they have. There are other smaller airships called gunboats, but nothing comparable to the frigate itself. Queen Twilight Sparkle and Queen Rainbow Dash rule a highly industrialized citystate of about ten thousand. However, it is still only a single city for the time being. Equestria is the one who has the lion’s share of the Alliance’s territory and population.
“Cel’thera! I should have known they were playing us like fools. Only a single true warship!?”
“To be fair, old friend,” Thaddeus placated. “I think the Deception along with its marine contingent would have been enough to cause catastrophic damage if we had called their bluff. Though I must give them credit for properly naming that vessel.”
Ventras grumbled in mutual respect. “Nevertheless, it changes little. We have nothing that can bring down a lightning immune airship. We’re going to need to fight fire with fire to do that.”
“I’m sure the council will come to the same conclusion.”
“Let us hope.”
I have included other critical details by the numbers on a third letter which should arrive within a week or so. Please be sure that Sestapo Commander Flarasa receives this letter’s companion.
May summer’s showers always enrich your harvest.
Your loving daughter,
Rasua Talarn
Ventras looked up at Thaddeus who was gritting his teeth. “The rest is most intruiging indeed.”
Reaching into a chest pocket, Ventras withdrew a small pouch and flipped the letter over to sprinkle the contents onto the back. As soon as he blew the dust away a shorter message appeared.
The railroad has a final station.
Ventras hummed with profound amusement. “Well, well. It looks like things are going to get very exciting around here. Thaddeus, we have preparations to make for ‘special’ immigrants, and we’ll have the backing of the local Sestapo as well.”
“This is a dangerous game, old friend,” Thaddeus warned. “We must exercise extreme caution.”
“Have no fear, my friend,” Ventras replied as he took a candle and burned his daughter’s letter. “I will not repeat the mistake of hubris after the fiasco with the Changelings’ display of power. We let the Sestapo do most of the work. The rest of us will just stay out of their way.”
Twilight Sparkle sighed in utter relaxation as she wiggled her way deeper into the steaming hot jacuzzi overlooking the gorgeous night sky. The balcony used to be the forward observation deck of the Ashes of the Phoenix, but now it was wide open to the cold night air.
Rarity’s expert touch had brought it to life with a few strategically placed palm trees, and the floor completely covered in sand to give it that ‘at the beach’ feel. Various other details such as mini-tiki huts, a bamboo bar, a stereo system that played ocean noises, and lounge chairs rounded out the look and atmosphere. It wasn’t her usual style, but when given a canvas as massive as a castle, the fashionista branched out.
Normally this place was open to everyone, but for tonight, Twilight Sparkle and Ratchet had it all to themselves, and she was loving every second of it.
Ratchet was snuggled up next to her, with only his nose above the bubbling water. Between a candlelight dinner, a play put on by the nymphs, and three hours of horseplay, Ratchet was completely worn out. He was more than content to remain latched onto his queen and lover and let the hot water melt away all the tension he had built up in his body.
For her part, Twilight was content to do the same, only that she kept most of her face above water so she could watch the twinkling stars. It would take more than being reborn into a changeling to rid Twilight of her love for the heavens above. Who knows. I might end up living long enough to go there.
<Well, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight,> Ratchet said while keeping only his nose above water. <Where in the world did you learn some of those positions? By the First Mother you were an animal!>
Twilight jabbed him playfully in the ribs while letting loose a good laugh. The hit wasn’t enough to make him surface. <Let’s just say that when it’s part of your job description to mate regularly, you make sure your partners get creative and have the Amore Sutra as required reading.> The fact that her old foalsitter’s book was helping her children this way made Twilight giggle maniacally. <Although, I might need to erase my memories of all those sessions every few years or so, just to keep the act fresh. The last thing I want is for sex to get dull.>
<That explains a few things.> Ratchet pulled himself up to the surface and planted a kiss on her check. Twilight shifted so he could hold her in his forelegs.
Those same forelegs that helped guide her along her chosen path. Twilight started channeling a spell to cool their body cores so neither of them would overheat. No reason we need to cut this night short on account of a little boiling.
Twilight buried herself into Ratchet’s embrace. She relished this all too rare time she had with him beyond just sleeping in the same bed. Yet it created some mild conflict within her. She loved nights with him, but as queen, Twilight was one half of the heart and soul of the hive. It was actually difficult for her to want to set aside time away from always improving her home.
I think RD’s right. I needed this so I can give even more of myself to the hive.
Nuzzling deeper into Ratchet’s soaked fur, Twilight let half of her mind lose itself in Ratchet’s company, while the other half communed with the Link. I am more than just a nexus, more than a queen-mother. The hive is an extension of me and my sister.
Twilight felt her awareness filter through thousands of eyes, feeling what her children felt, hearing what they heard, all with Ratchet acting like an anchor. The sensation went beyond mere words. Love, joy, surprise, mirth, irritation, delight, anger, lust, she felt it all as her children felt them.
<So what do you want to do now?> Ratchet’s voice cut through to Twilight, making her shrink back into herself. Twilight had to blink as her awareness returned to normal.
“We have one hour, ten minutes, and thirty eight seconds before I should get to bed. We can talk about whatever.”
Ratchet knew exactly what that meant. The hive was everything to her, as was expected from a queen. What that meant to Ratchet was that she wanted to talk about it. “So how’d it go with the new capital ship we got? I heard you weren’t happy with the preliminary budget allocation.”
“Oh ho ho, no I most definitely was not! I had to curtail all that spending to a fifth of their original estimate. Just enough for them to make changes to the oil refinery and make a few of those biplanes of theirs. Did you get a chance to see them yet?”
Ratchet knew it didn’t take much. All he had to do was speak of engineering so that Twilight would swing the conversation around to a more precise topic. All of it so she wouldn’t lose that romantic touch to the night. I’m so glad she dove into engineering like she did. I wouldn’t be able to hold a real conversation with her otherwise.
“Only briefly, sadly. I was called away before I could see much.”
“Did you at least get a chance to investigate the Octavia fluid? Truly remarkable stuff.”
“Octavia? Must have missed it.”
Twilight look a long sluggish breath and dunked her head under water. <It actually came from an earth pony inventor in Canterlot. The stallion didn’t know what he had. Gloss caught wind of it and bought up the patent while leaving him one rich pony. The name sounds familiar though… I bet the inventor was infatuated with a mare.>
Ratchet nuzzled her lovingly. Even though Twilight couldn’t feed off that love, she wouldn’t trade him for anyone. “So… what? Is it a replacement for coal and oil or is it steam 2.0?”
Twilight raised her head out of the water and let go of her breath. “If anything, it would be the coolant, actually. Octavia, far and above anything else, is an excellent magic conductor. It absorbs the pegasi magic our engines generate and allows them to spread the field over a far greater area. This allows greater engine efficiency. Once energized with magic, the Octavia is pumped through the external pipes that loop around the hull. The pipes have catalyzing rods in them distributed along their lengths. The rods cause the Octavia to release its stored magic, and that means the pegasi magic can be released along the length of the ship. As a result, one sufficiently powerful engine can lift an entire ship.”
Ratchet hugged her tight, only for Twilight to return it. “Seems a little too complex for such a small combat vehicle though. A lot of things can go wrong with it, and the pilot would be too busy flying to fix anything.”
“Then we better make sure nothing does,” she responded with a long yawn.
Twilight’s snuggle was interrupted by the familiar feeling of eggs dropping into the ready position. I can wait to get them fertilized until the morning, right now is Ratchet Time. Twilight adjusted her cool spell to extend over her egg sack before refocusing on Ratchet. She fell asleep in his forelegs shortly after that. Ratchet took over the spell to keep their bodies cool and held her tight to keep her head above water. It helped that he was nearly as tall as she was.
Ratchet smiled at the former librarian’s peaceful face. It was the same expression she always wore when she was snuggled up to him. With a slight laugh, he magically pulled her wet mane away from her eyes and kissed her muzzle. Rest easy, my love.
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oh dear, ventras is trying to get his paws on changeling tech in order to fight them. this can only end in tears. (hopefully for ventras. what an idiot.)
Here's hoping to see more Rasua in upcoming chapters, and maybe Dash and Rarity as well.
Incidentally, Rarity's story would make a great side-fic to the series. (it may not be epic adventure, but it could make for an interesting slice-of-life style fic.)
It's fun to open up a new chapter on a story and watch the viewer count climb.
5837152 I was speaking largely in terms of the equestria in this universe, although I still wonder about the party cannon thing.
yeah, equestria has a lot of schizo tech, but, even then, there are still limitations.
(in that all of the schizo tech is isolated technologically and all of it is quality-of-life type stuff. ie. DJ booth, party cannon, Trains, hot air balloons, the pinkopter, Helium balloons, a taffy machine, etc.)
And I'm not going to even touch the subject of tanks. I highly doubt that any of them have tanks, so it's possible it's just a reference to real life that wasn't thought through very well. It doesn't make sense at all: why use tanks when you have ponies that can summon lighting, make magic shields, fly, break rocks, shoot magic laserbeams... tanks would just be completely impractical and expensive. (not to mention the limit of their mechanical prowess is steam power. Though I suppose you could have a steam-driven tank, but again, what's the point?)
5840051 Think the underground railroad but for psychers. The final station is where all the Psychers can go to finally be safe from persecution or justice as the case may be.
5840051
Petty sure it's in reference to the sphinx psykers, meaning that the underground railroad now has a final destination.
5840051
No, it's talking about evacuating the Psykers. Think like the old Underground Railroads for slaves in the Civil War era, or the Jewish refugees in WWII.
Hence the term 'The Railroad has a final stop'
There's finally a place to send the Psykers of the homelands, rather than just shuffling them around and hoping they don't get caught.
5840253 ok, thanks!
5840121 No one ever said tanks were weapons for war. Clearly they're part of the party-cannon line of the entertainment arsenal.
Intersting, we'd like to see Octavia being used to boost the deflector shield mechanisms as well (don't know if it got a proper name yet). I think it could do wonders with harmonic-resonant spells as well, assuming you could tune the flow accurately enough....
Keep going! ;)
Wow! My sincere congrats on completing the third book!
Onwards to book 4!
So... am I the only one to notice the Naruto reference? Anyone? Oh well. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
5840101
This is not an idiotic thing to do. Actually, it is highly intelligent. Twilight will no doubt do what she can to get her hooves on Sphinx technology, whether through buying, bribery, or outright theft. Ventras is simply trying to give his people and edge. That is what deniable black-opps scouts and spies are for. Deniability and the chance for some information that is worth double it's weight in gold. It is how things have always been done, and always will be.
Will the subterfuge succeed? Probably not. But he has to make the effort.
Hmmm, seems to me like two hives are gone actually, that queen who got brain fried who I can't remember the name of and Cadista's. Of course you could argue neither got culled exactly, since in one case it was a voluntary absorption after a loss, and the other severe damage due to a counter attack, but the hives part makes sense.
begging to dislike the sphinxes including rasua, for a species claiming to be about honor and all that, they clearly lack any and all definitions of the word.
How horrible of a person does it make me that I thought of Naruto when she said that.
__________________
I'm eagerly awaiting the next book to come out. On a side note, your new avatar looks epic.
5840417 I know... *triplefacepalm* I have been preoccupied with things lately. Hopefully soon, my friend.
5840403
No more horrible than I... because I did the same...
5840051 The end of the railroad is a synonymous phrase for the end of a journey to freedom. Made during the 1800's before and during the American civil war, where African American slaves that were freed from their slave masters, would be guided to the northern part of the US where they would disappear as free men. In this Case I think it basically means that the Sphinxes now have a place to send all of their Phsychers and undesirables.
I'm kinda surprised Want-It, Need-It doesn't get more tactical use. The combat applications would be horrifying.
5840101 A good leader has to plan for any eventuality.
I smell invasion...
That was a great book
I can wait for the next one 
I have this sinking feeling that the Sphinx might become and adversary and that won't be good. 
I do hope Twilight can usher a long lasting peace with them especially so close to Equestria territory 
I'm looking forward to the next book. 
5840051
I think it refers to the Psykers, railroad might be referring to underground railroad. Their province was liberal regarding Psykers and most likely sympathetic to them. And by the sound of it the Sphinxes might all have dormant Psi abilities that can become active if not repressed. This might offer interesting dynamic for evolution of both the Sphinxes and the Changelings.
OH WOW this is The end of the book. Umm ok then. ON to the next one I guess.
as always a nice chapter.
Am I right to assume, that your 'Sestapo' is a reference to the 'Gestapo' in Germany during WWII? The 'Geheime Staatspolizei' (Secret State Police)
If it is, then my bad feeling about those cat-whatever-they-are beings will probably turn out to be justified soon.
I'm excited to see what will happen next^^
I'm sad to see it finished but happy because I know its sequel will be just as good, if not better.
You weren't inaccurate; you've effectively got two queens down now. One of them may still be alive, but she's out of the running, so to speak, and her hive was definitely 'culled'.
And, maybe I was reading too much into it, but I got the impression that at least some of the other queens were engaging in some opportunistic warfare of their own after the big siege.
Silandrius and Stripped Gear. Two hives dead.
By my count, the plurality is accurate.
5840595
But they wouldn't mind a few particular eventualities.
5840343
I meant idiot more as an insult that an accurate description, because I'm petty and don't like him.
5840272
A party tank? I like your thinking.
5840403 I guess I'm horrible too, and I've never even watched the show
I didn't even realize that this was complete until I reached the comments. I really want to say it's strange since book 2 had significantly more arcs to it, but then again book 2 seems to be more of an exception than the rule here.
I knew there had to be a catch to these rapid updates; you just wanted to buy yourself time by saying that you're preparing for the next book! I know your kind.
Book over? Aw... well at least there's the next one. I look forward to seeing it.
Octavia fluid for flying machines? I see some Last Exile influence, sounds like Claudia in the way it works. If not then give it a look, the show has some interesting concepts.
5840143 I am not so sure... It sounded more.... Sinistar. As if the Psykers going there is to have them take over and control people with there powers. Oh boy, are they going to be in for a biiiiiig surprise if they ever try to take on Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Rainbow.
---
Yeeaaah.... That isn't going to happen, unless you make a deal with Chryssi, and she would probably just eat your head and feed your entire nation to her army.
5841724
I didn't get a sinister vibe at all. Remember, when the underground railroad was running here in the U.S. they were forced to use clandestine symbols and code to communicate to fleeing slaves and fellow operators. It's been made clear that psychers are second class citizens with the sphynxes and many are persecuted for their nature and abilities. It would stand to reason that sympathy would be generated and they would work to help the Psychers get to more accepting provinces and now into Equestria. The fact that the message was hidden and was an ambiguous statement leads me to think that this is a "humanitarian" effort, not a malicious one.
XD Oh lawd. As long as she doesn't start wearing orange, I'll let it slide.
2 for 2, man, at least as I've caught them, lol.
my brain started running through different, better sounding bad guys, but I ended up with toothpaste. I'm now watching a dark-knight Luna fight a sectioned-face Colgate in my head, thanks
5841395 Wait, what? It's done? Hell, I didn't even notice that.
5840101 Governments don't just attempt to steal tech so they can attack others, believe it or not. In this case, he may just be trying to level the playing field, as the changelings have literally grounded their strongest weapon. After all, always negotiate from a position of power, or at least, don't let yourself be negotiated with while you're weak.
The end? didn't feel like it for some reason
An interesting time for you as a writer. Having wrapped up the second book of chaotic touch of harmony, and this one, which is going to be next? Whichever it is, I'll love it.
5842012 exactly my thoughts. well put my good lad
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
5842006
Time for some oddly specific alchemy accident then!
Dattebayo!
5840051 End of the railroad. Finally got a place to store dem nasty Psykers. 6th answer :P
The ashes of Yumia, huh. Those're definitely important enough to go back for.
*fist-pump*
Well now, that's a fascinating little tidbit. An underground railroad, perhaps?
It's nice to see that Twilight and Ratchet are still being able to make time for each other.
Neat, I was really curious about that detail.
Woah, this is the end of the current story? Didn't really expect that, but this is a reasonable place for it.
The ending felt quite sudden but again it was just the aftermath of the action I guess, and as always quite a pleasure to read, see you on the next book.
5840816 it definitely seems like there may be be some wars going on in the back ground, or atleast opportunistic probing attacks if not flat out war.