Guardian of Forever (And Equestria Too, I Guess)

by Akouma

6: Calling Down the Thunder

"Why do you need this many electrodes?" Twilight asked as she skimmed the list Mason had written. "And are you certain you need a non-magical electrical generator? I know I have access to treasury funding, but that's taxpayer money and they cost a fortune. Would you be alright with batteries and a lightning rod?"

Mason grimaced. "If you're absolutely unwilling to spend the extra, but I'd rather not have my testing schedule dependent on the weather. Besides, mad scientist powering his mighty invention with the power of a storm on a rooftop? Bit cliche, at least where I'm from."

"We have lightning storms booked[1] often enough that you could test pretty liberally with enough power storage. And if you're ever out of electricity, I'm certain Dash wouldn't mind topping you off."[2]
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[1]Would like to be clear she means "arranged in advance, for certain." And not "our weather models predict."
[2]Wait what.

"Your friend can control electricity?" Mason asked, puzzled.

"Well, yeah," Twilight said with a chuckle as though this were the most normal thing in the world. "Of course she can, she's a pegasus."[3]
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[3]Unclear whether pegasi have elemental powers, or just lightning powers. Raises a lot of questions regardless.

Mason's face must have been a giveaway of his confusion, as she continued. "Sorry, since you're in the body of a pony, it's easy to forget you're not one.[4] While less obvious than unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies have magic, too. Pegasus magic is what enables them to fly,[5] but it also enables them to manipulate weather.[6] Usually it takes a few pegasi working together to get a lightning cloud going, but Dash will be the first to tell you that she is no ordinary pegasus. And if she's busy and doesn't want to do it herself, I could probably pull some strings with the weather team[7] to arrange the occasional charge up."
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[4]That's… fair, honestly.
[5]Obviously. Their wingspan isn't even CLOSE to the width they'd need to achieve lift naturally.
[6]Well that's horrifying. One of the most powerful things a Genius can do after years or even decades of study and the ones with wings can just do it whenever.
[7]Can probably pull some strings? Isn't she royalty?

"That sounds really inconvenient to everypony involved, Twilight. Yourself included."

"I'd rather put up with a little inconvenience if it means a much more efficient solution. And also to avoid having a combustion-based electricity generator in my home."

Mason shrugged. "They're perfectly safe."

"They are, by definition, devices which light highly reactive components on fire, generate enough electricity to easily kill a pony, and belch toxic smoke," Twilight huffed. "They are not safe."

Mason leaned back in his seat. "Alright, Twilight. We'll go with pegasus power then."

---

"What the hay[8] is this crazy thing supposed to do?" Rainbow asked as she looked at what Mason had set up on the roof of the palace.
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[8]Fairly certain that's "hay," the core part of a pony's diet and not "hey," the greeting.

Mason pointed at the structure. "That's just how we're gathering power. The rod absorbs the electricity you're going to strike it with, and these things," he gestured towards the many strange apparati wired to the rod that Twilight had assured him were batteries, "will store that electricity. The actual device is in the workshop down below."

"Oh, um. I knew that, obviously."[9] She looked towards the imposing lightning rod next to her. "But what are you hooking this all up to?"
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[9]She absolutely did not know that, obviously.

Mason laughed. He stopped himself before it started going maniacal. "Short answer: I'm making something that zaps a pony's brain real hard."

"Is that a good thing?

"Depends on if I've built it right and what you consider to be a good thing."

"Okay, is it a good thing if you built it right?"

Mason turned towards a clump of wires to examine it. "Still depends on your mor–"

"Answer the question, Mason!"

"Yes. If it works right it does what I would argue is a good thing," he mumbled over his shoulder as he checked that each battery was connected. "Why would Twilight even let me build this if it were just some death ray? Besides, I'm not the 'death ray' sort of scientist."

As he toiled, Rainbow landed next to him in a small flutter of wings. She reached out towards the wiring nearest her. "You need a hoof with–"

Mason's head whipped towards her, a look of horror on his face, Mania glowing behind his eyes and radiating outward. "Don't touch that!"

Rainbow froze.

His expression softened. "Sorry. Reflex. You can probably touch the wiring. Should be safe enough, as far as handling electrical equipment goes."

"Why is that your reflex? I get not wanting ponies to touch your stuff, but you looked…"[10]
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[10]Bet she's using the I-word.

"Insane?"[11]
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[11]You take all the fun out of being insulted, you know.

"...Yeah."

"Well I am, so that would probably be why. Besides, there's real consequences for playing with Inspired stuff."

Rainbow looked at him askance. "You mean besides getting yelled at by an egghead?"

"You would much rather get yelled at than touch my inventions." He glanced down to his forehooves, and the boots wrapped around them. "Want a demonstration?"

"Sure?"

He gingerly took the one from his left hoof off. "Put this on, then try to use it."

Once it was on her hoof, she waved her leg in the air, clearly not knowing what to do. "How do I–"

"They get signals from the faint electrical impulses that activate your muscles. You've never had hands, so you probably won't have the instinct to operate a synthetic one, but try to just envision making the boot do this." He raised his right hoof and extended the claws outwards.

"Okay…"

Mason could tell the very instant she started thinking about it, because that's when she broke the device. The claws popped open with greater force than usual, colliding at the tips with a sound of tearing fabric, bending metal, and electricity audibly shorting out.

Rainbow gasped. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break it Icanhelpyoumakeanotherone!"

"Oh, I knew for sure that either it wouldn't work at all or you'd break it. I'm perfectly capable of fixing it on my own time." Mason reclaimed the damaged boot, and took a spare spool of wire to begin making temporary repairs until he could give it a more lasting fix.

"Then why did you give it to me?"

"Because," Mason said through gritted teeth around a clump of copper, "I wanted a nice demonstration of why you shouldn't touch my stuff. Better to have one of you break something easy to fix now, than have somepony get killed because they're too curious."

Rainbow's wings flared open.[12] "Ponies get killed because of stuff like that?"
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[12]Likely an instinctual intimidation tactic. She's mad.

"Only if they're messing with something that could kill them. Havoc's a real...[13] Really?[14] Because whoever programmed you gave you a very sarcastic temperament and you always sound like you're messing with me.[15] Being sapient doesn't mean–"
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[13]From background conversations I've filtered out of translation, I think the correct term is "nag."
[14]Why do you constantly assume I'm messing with you on these?
[15]Listen, I make fun of you and everyone around you because I have literally nothing to do with the spare processor cycles and have been cursed with sapience.

"You know, Pinkie mentioned you sometimes talk out loud to the thing in your head, but this is still really weird."

Mason gave his head a vigorous shake and focused back on the mare in front of him. "Sorry. Anyway, Havoc's a real… nag."

"What do you mean by 'havoc?' Because I know Discord,[16] and he would be really offended by calling that 'havoc.'"
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[16]That's a person's name. She doesn't seem quite bright enough to phrase the concept of having seen utter chaos in her life that way.

There was a long pause as Rainbow examined her surroundings, flapped upwards to scan around their surroundings, then returned to the ground seeming to have not found anything. "No? He usually shows up when you say that kind of stuff." She glanced around again. "Really? Not even after pointing it out?"[17]
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[17]And somehow society has decided you're the insane one.

"What was that about?"

"Don't worry about it. What were you saying?"

"Right, Havoc. That's capital-H[18] Havoc, not just a general sense of disorder. It's the Genius term for our stuff going haywire when a normal pony messes with it."
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[18]I would like the record to show I hate you and I especially hate letting you know this bothers me.

"I am not a normal pegasus." Her chest puffed outwards and her wings flared in a display that was probably supposed to look confident but was too busy being adorable.

"In terms of the laws of reality, you probably are. Only Geniuses can handle a piece of Inspired tech without potentially breaking it or worse. The more advanced the tech, the worse the fallout of breaking it. The boot wasn't very advanced at all and a lot of its operative parts were hidden, so no harm done to you. What I'm working on in Twilight's lab, though, that would probably kill you. And neither you nor any of your friends besides Pinkie should touch it. We on the same page?"

Rainbow cocked her head. "I guess. Hey, what's 'Inspired' tech? You've used that word a few times, but it sounds like it means something different to you."

"Powerful technology crafted by a Genius," Mason answered automatically, like he was reciting a line from a textbook.

"You're putting this all together. How come the batteries aren't Inspired now?" She turned toward the lightning rod and pointed at it. "Or that?"

"Because this is mundane electrical work with no Mania involved. If a Genius makes it but anypony could have, it's not Inspired. If it needs Mania to run, it's Inspired."

"Makes sense." She gave an exaggerated yawn. "I'm bored. Can I zap the pole yet?"

Mason held out a hoof and extended the claw on top of it directly up and away. Then he remembered that Rainbow would have no context for the concept of a thumbs-up. "Uh, sure! The wires are all set."

Without further delay, Rainbow quickly grabbed several passing tufts of cloud and pressed them together over the lightning rod. He couldn't help but wonder how she could do that as she gave the first kick, sending a bright bolt crashing into the receptive metal.

Every unicorn appears to be a born Mage, Mason thought. Pegasi clearly have powers too. Maybe I should ask Twilight if Dash and all pegasi are changelings.

---

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. You think they're what?"

"Changelings, Twilight. I can expla–"

Twilight reared her hind hooves onto her desk. "Mason, I could live with you showing up on my doorstep needing help, and then you trying to tell me that two of my best friends are dangerous psychopaths. Mistakes happen. And I wasn't happy when you told me your very presence is a potential hazard to the mental wellbeing of those around you, but you're taking steps to fix the problem. But what in Tartarus makes you think one of my best friends is an impostor? And why would you say that changelings have gone back to kidnapping?"[19]
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[19]Oh she's real mad. I feel like changelings as a concept might mean something different here if she even knows what those are.

Mason held up his hooves defensively. "Whoa, Twilight. I think we might have a disconnect here. Where I'm from, changelings aren't kidnappers. They're kidnapping victims. It's the term we use for those unfortunates who have been kidnapped by a fae[20] creature, warped by their magic, then escaped."
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[20]I really hope the concept of the fae exists in this world, or this is going to be really hard to explain.

"What?"

"A really common indicator some… pony has that fae magic in them is power over various natural forces. Or uncanny speed or strength. I don't know if changelings are capable of passing down the magic through a bloodline, but it's plausible that pegasi are descended from somepony who was changed this way."

Twilight shot him a humorless glare. "So you genuinely think that Rainbow, or some ancestor of hers so distant that they predate all known written or oral history of equine kind, was somehow overpowered and kidnapped by a breezie[21], who then warped them in such a way that it resonated through the genetics of all equine kind. Do I have that right?"
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[21]I think this would roughly translate as "small fairy" or "sprite," but I'm not certain.

"It's more of a theory than a sincerely held belief. Also, not knowing what exactly a 'breezie' is, I don't want to commit to that."

"They are, to our knowledge" Twilight said with an exasperated sigh, "the only fae creatures that enter Equestria with any regularity. They are smaller than my hoof and, without exaggeration, can be defeated by a stiff breeze blowing them away. They are also friendly to ponies and actively depend on our cooperation for survival when they need to forage in our world. We know of other, more threatening fae from their realm, but we closely monitor any gates to and from it for a reason. So no, I'm fairly certain no pony in history was ever kidnapped by a breezie." She leaned back in her seat, hooves crossed over chest with a frown.

"Alright, I guess it was a bit of a reach to say all pegasi are descended from one kidnapping victim. Still, if you know malicious fae exist, it's almost certain that some missing pony cases trace back to them."

"Good to know, I suppose. And just so you're aware, changelings in Equestria are a species of shapeshifters. They sadly have a bad reputation as kidnappers, but as a culture they've moved on from that.[22] Saying that somepony is a changeling in the wrong company might cause a really bad reaction, so please don't go spreading that idea around."
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[22]She is notably not saying they weren't kidnappers.

"My lips are sealed, Princess."

Twilight's expression softened. "That wasn't a royal order, Mason. And besides, you’re not from Equestria, so you’re not my subject."

"It was definitely coming from the royal part of your mind, though."

"Listen, I'm sorry. These last few weeks dealing with all of this have been stressful."

Mason leaned forward, placing his chin on her desk. "For me too, Twilight. I know I'm a pain in the...[23] flank. And I know that you didn't ask for any of this. I appreciate your help, even if I'm doing a bad job of showing it."
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[23]Flank, and don't act all shocked and argue with me again it would ruin the moment.

Twilight leaned across the desk to place a comforting hoof on his shoulder. "It seems to mostly just be culture shock."

"And a callous disregard for the feelings of others that comes part and parcel with being a Genius for any notable length of time," he mumbled out of the side of his face that wasn't smushed on Twilight's desk.

"You are really not helping your case here."

"Sorry. I'm used to being around peo…[24] people who treat becoming Inspired as the worst thing that ever happened to them. I'm one of those people some nights, depending on how much booze I've had. Leads to a lot of gallows humor."
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[24]You're getting better about this, but you really need to watch it.[A]
[A]She already knows I'm not a pony, why leave room for ambiguity?[25]
[25]Fine.

"Why do you even want to go back to a place that makes you feel like that?" Twilight asked, cocking her head.

"If I can't, all of time and space might collapse? Here, included?"

Twilight puzzled over that. "Were you high enough up the chain that this would be your responsibility normally? You said you didn't make any of the time travel techniques you use, you just borrow them."

"I can't be certain the competent people in the Guardians are alive, or safe, or in a position to work on the problem with no distractions." Mason lifted his head from the desk, jaw set in what he hoped looked resolute. "Lacking them, that leaves me. I need to step up, just in case."

"I suppose I know what it feels like to be the only one who knows for sure what's going on at times. But Mason, fixing the problem with time and space probably doesn't require you staying in a place that's making you miserable."

"Maybe not, but what would I even do here?"

Twilight smiled at him like she'd just won some game. "Nopony said anything about staying here."

"You were clearly implying it. And hey, maybe. You've all been incredibly nice to me. There is one wrinkle with living here for now that I'm not sure how to solve yet."

"And what is that?"

"I'm running out of Mania, and ethically getting more can be difficult."

---

The Clockstopper had to admit one thing about rail lines: they were great for finding out where people were. The next town over from where the corrupt and evil Maniacs were was a quiet little place named… something. He would figure out what it was named once he learned the language. A kind couple with wings had taken him in, and even begun the difficult process of teaching him.

He liked the wings. This species seemed to understand that the skies belonged only to those who could access it naturally. No planes or other air travel in sight! He was a little iffier on the ones with horns, since their magic was a little too close to the do-anything nonsense of his hated rivals.

Still, its use didn't seem like much of a scholarly pursuit so much as a spiritual one. It was comparatively pure. Everybody in town seemed relatively pure.

He looked forward so very much to when they would all work together to take down that scum a town over.

Author's Note:

As with many other chapters, big thanks to Bugsydor and FanofMostEverything for prereading this!

Comments

[Bugsydor]

That clockstopper is being ominous again.

Talking with Rainbow was fun, and the chat with Twilight turned out well.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Ah, the fun of false cognates.

I'm running out of Mania, and ethically getting more can be difficult.

I suppose the question there is what Pinkie does to get hers. Unicorns likely have it easier; all of Equestria is saturated in magic.

As for the Clockstopper... I wonder how much of an impediment it is if the targeted town is home to beloved multi-time saviors of the world. (Probably not nearly enough of one.)