She's keeping a secret. As a matter of fact, she doesn't know what it is herself! Unfortunately, it's kinda difficult to hide something so large from one's own housemate forever. Thus, suspicions arise, questions are asked... and so begins, the secret search for secrets. What will the secret do?
Updates every Thursday or when ready, whichever comes later.... Or whenever I get around to it- I'm not very good at posting the already-ready updates on time, sorry about that. I've got several waiting, feel free to bug me if/when I miss one. Heck with it, the slow update schedule is killing me as much as it's killing you. Updates when ready.
Tags will be updated as the story progresses.
Chapters (21)
Well, that's interesting. The mystery pony (by tags, likely Lyra, but you never mentioned the name yet) must have been running a lot of tests if she's already up to complex timer and control systems. (not to mention most of those are actually cheap processors running code, not just hardwired logic...)
I assume that she managed to make either something similar (if magic allows for matter transmutation, I suspect making chips wouldn't be that hard, of course) or just wrote the program in ROM at the same time she made the rest of it. Does she know how programming works now? It's kind of a unique mindset, but it's not THAT hard to pick up...
Hm. Who's the new person?
Also, I want a recursive basement now. :(
8888897
How about a recursive secret basement? I’d like one of those.
Though to be honest, the idea isn’t original. I’ll reveal the reference in next chapter’s author’s notes.
8889124
I made a box fort that worked that way once. It was a great way to protect holiday candies (and I mean ANY holiday with them); my Dad eats anything not nailed down that has sugar in it (not that I'm any better).
8889394
*nails Pinkie's baking supplies to the floor* Okay?
8889683
Did I forget to mention that he knows how to use a claw hammer (and if that doesn't work, it can always be applied to the owner of the candy instead)?
:D
8889819
Besides, Pinkie Pie would disappear the nails and bake a cake for him anyways... They are her supplies, after all. And he'll need a welcome party if he's going to be anywhere near those supplies.
What's her excuse spell?
8903474
Her excuse spell...? You mean her alibi, right?
8903692
Yes, that. She has some sort of spell active that consumes most of her power, and which supposedly is responsible for making her magically weak. What sort of spell would she need to have active most of the time, that everyone would know she has active?
8904557
Um.... No. She comments on the specifics in chap. 5, and explains it in chap. 6. The alibi can’t channel much power at all, but she can cast powerful magic from herself even while it is active.
8904598
So, she's disguised as another unicorn? Like her Time Turner disguise?
8904816
No. Her alibi looks exactly like her; she uses it to represent herself when she is away.
The different identities confuse me. Who is called what?
So, she started repairing the Bolo by accident, and found a... fusion reactor? Or one of the data systems?
8917966
The stallion is unnamed in this chapter (he'll be referred to as 'Molester' in future chapters). Bonbon is Sweetie Drops, she calls Lyra 'Candy Stripes' in the stallion's presence.
Yes, she started fixing it. We'll find out what she found, come Chap. 7.
You may have noticed how this chapter flows differently than the rest. That's because two entire sections were deleted, positioned on the breaks surrounding her bottle-discovery. Those sections detailed the Bolo waking up... Which no longer happens this early in the story. I finished writing out Chap. 10 today, and it's still not awake yet. After all, the whole point of this story was for what the ponies- or, specifically, Lyra Heartstrings- would do with Bolo technology... in the absence of the controlling mind. Yes, it will wake up eventually; it'd just be mean (like, accidentally blow up Equestria mean) to keep the thing "dead" for too long- especially when the more powerful weapons start reaching operability.
Which they inevitably will. Eventually.
8918024
Ah. Already the tech is interesting, though so far it's mainly been interesting magics taking the spotlight.
I wonder at what point they realize (or Lyra does, anyway -- does Bonbon get told ever?) that the machine uses no mana.
I also wonder at what point they try to combine the technologies. :D
8918871
Yes, I’ve been focusing on the magical side. It’s gonna be quite the competiton for the tech!
Well, since Lyra studied electricity and knows it runs on electricity, she has probably assumed it doesn’t run on mana... But yes, it’ll be a surprise when she finds out what that fusion bottle is really used for.
And magic-tech combining is an eventual plot point, though I’m going to take it somewhat slower than Iron Mountain did.
I think.
8919037
Suuuuuure. I'll believe that when I see it. :D
I wonder if a computer-controlled autocaster is in the works for this story? I could see Scootaloo wanting one, if a flight or thrust spell is put in it. As for everypony else, I'm sure a HUD combined with a repertoire of common spells would be rather helpful for non-unicorns, and the most obvious use would be for the resident spies.
8919165
I'll have to think on that. Tech-based magic won't be happening for quite a while; once it does, in a general-purpose sense, we get what Iron Mountain has: One machine capable of fending off every hostile with punitive ease, no matter how powerful.
8919477
Yeah, that happens pretty quickly. I suppose there's a reason it gets called the singularity.
OOooo! She IS the Searcher! (I haven't read far enough to say if that was explicitly discovered by Bon-Bon, but that's hilarious. She actually managed to get there before Daring. Trololol. By the by, Daring as RIA makes a lot of sense. Would not be surprised if that goes official at some point.)
And, yes, I can make that claim, since she managed to disappear an entire Bolo and I'm pretty sure she got those books herself; ergo, the ones missing (and presumably the other items) that Daring can't find must have been taken by her.
I wonder just how powerful she is. Also, did she actually demonstrate her ability yet, or does Bons still not believe her?
I am going to bet that there's a fourth basement getting revealed in the future. That statement was worded perfectly.
8930981
Nice.
Very powerful XD Yes, she's actually demonstrated her ability, with that perception filter & etc of hers; Bonbon has difficulty fitting that into her worldview, though. Her weak-unicorn facade was a bit too convincing.
As of Chapter 13, she still doesn't have a fourth basement. She still has the house, though...
Which statement? Was it the one where she was all:
Or was it some other...?
(And is it just me, or are you the only one that comments on any of my stories anymore...?)
8931982
Yes, it was that sentence I referred to, and I hope I'm not the only person commenting.
I rather like your stories, though it does seem that you've been jumping around a lot.
Not actually complaining, though (much), since it gives me something to read, even if there's less continuity.
8932059
Have I lost my flavor, or do ponies have less to say about non-mane characters...?
Well, you have been, aside from the occasional comment on age-old chapters in Iron Mountain or Alloyed Hope...
8932088
The stories are still fun, at least for ME, but we all know I'm weird, so that's probably a bad measure.
I like the side characters, myself, so that shouldn't be it...
Maybe it's a length issue? The new stories are only a few K words, and I tend not to read until they hit 30 or I know they were just posted fresh...
8932115
I like 'em too, but I'm also weird. And the author... So it's a little different over here.
Unless I've simply attracted bronies and pegasisters that follow the
Mane 6, rather than the ones that are willing to consume my (rather unique) interpretation on the 
"background ponies"... 
Possible... We're at 10k published right now. Though my document is at 63 pages across 13 chapters... Back when Iron Mountain had ~60 pages, it also had 15 chapters- and ~35k words. So, it's been written, just not published yet.
8933668
About that. I uh, want to help edit those chapters, totally not so that I can read them ahead of time. :D
Gigglesnort. She did it again! Poor Daring Do...
The moment Bons finds THAT out should be absolutely fogging hilarious.
We have a name, folks!
Well, repairing DCC is a good idea...
I wonder what will happen when they get the fusion plant online.
"Meanwhile, it was a quiet day in Ponyville; birds were sing--
RUUUUMBLLEEE...
Earthquake!!"
8945574
If I can manage to write it that way, yes.
If you're talking about the Bolo, kinda. I haven't actually named it yet (even in the unpublished chapters), only applied the unit designation.
Oh- and yes, repairing DCC is generally a good idea. Though DCC, in this case, stands for Damage Control Central- so, the processors that control the repair operations. The ones that are running just fine, and have been ever since she found one of 'em to restore. (Remember that thing she fixed before she found the screen and started tracing that to the processors? That was a damage control processor.) Here, the repair operation is pointed not at DCC but at 'All Damage Control Systems'... which means it includes the nanites/manipulators that it's using to actually do the work- the part that failed during its resumed damage review. That's probably where a lot of the repairs- or, more accurately, replacements- will be focused.
Hmm.... We'll see what happens to Fusion 6 next chapter... and I've got the Ponyville-quake scheduled for a very different event, several miles down the road. Spoiler alert, I haven't written THAT part yet. Though if I recall correctly, Bolos are normally equipped with massive amounts of fusion, fission... and chemical warheads. If one of those remains volatile and gets hit wrong... Bolos are also designed to vent overpressure. Thus, the fountain in the Ponyville Square might grow very rapidly at some point...
No worries, no redmanes in this story. They were a plot device in Alloyed Hope.
8945968
I have no idea why there aren't more bolo stories. There's so much opportunity for mayhem. :D
8946333
Agreed.
is it okay that I'm disappointed that said secrect is that lyra is not a human
Huh. So, however it works, I guess nanites help with magic.
I sense a bit of a theme here with the exploding.
The emergency lights are on since the computer has noticed the power loss? But then why would they not go back up once power was restored?
8958449
Um... Yes, it's okay. That's not the secret, after all.
8958470
As far as the computer is concerned, power was never restored. As in, fusion power was never restored.
8958546
Ah.
It's still funny that she cratered a fusion plant and lived, by the way.
8958657
Yep XD Note that the aforementioned fusion plant was not running at the time, so the blast was entirely magical in nature.
I know what the secret is.
But I'm not telling.
At least I think I know what the secret is.
Wow. That's impressive. Not sure it's the best idea, or that she's completely sane right now, but Discord's gotta be having fun with the confusion she leaves behind.
Something tells me that the itchy back, stronger magic, and preening supplies might be related...
I see it's working...
She found some sort of plot (or has been caught by a clever trap; I don't know what side Acorn is truly on), AND has out-trolled Celestia.
I like it.
Am I really the only person reading this, though? Sad. :(
8986930
We're in one of the time periods through the day when most people aren't floating around here- work, school, etc. Not surprised.
Why/when did Bon Bon come back?
Also, how did Lyra's fur and feathers end up on the ship? Where had she been hiding vs. her alibi that she wasn't noticed even by the contact agent?
Also, the airship now is intelligent. Awesome.
I wonder how well the integration with its magic-powered systems will work?
8999839
Bon Bon come back...? I know a few chapters ago, she moved out of Lyra's house- and has been living in her shop since. Sure, she's probably gone on a few missions during the interim, but she hasn't been extensively absent from Ponyville.
How did her fur & etc end up on the ship? Duh... She's living on the ship. As for where she was hiding, it's a big ship, as developed last chapter- and her ability to swap places with her alibis was developed a long time ago. She could theoretically, given a good awareness and reaction time, replace herself with her alibi every time Purple Acorn came close. Purple Acorn did notice Blueberry Punch's knack for teleporting around the ship when unsupervised.
8999963
Ah, that makes sense. As for Bons, I thought that she had to leave entirely. It's been a little while. Aheheh...
9000034
Yes, that it has.
That's totally not a misleading title. :D
Well, on one hoof, the Bolo is slightly more awake. The worrying part is who it's going to try to blow up; either someone who shouldn't have been able to find the ship is sneaking about, or it's going to disintegrate a good guy...
All these code names are starting to confuse me by this point. :{
9015355
Well, something DID penetrate the Secret... as evidenced by the security breach.
Code names? All you've got is Bonbon/Sweetie Drops, Lyra/Candy Stripes... then simply Purple Acorn and Rain, which might as well be their real names right now. Nopony knows who Keen Sight, Silent Shout, White Noise, Stern Gaze, Hidden Light, or Stinky Sludge are, yet... All coming in future chapters.
9015922
I meant, did it mistake one of Lyra's group, such as Purple Rain, for the enemy? But now I know that it was someone else! Yaaay for accidental spoilers!
And Stinking Sludge is a very bizarre name. Did he/she have an unfortunate accident involving gas station sandwiches, "six hours later", and a swimming pool?
9016786
Lyra is the only one that’s supposed to be on the ship right now- if anypony else is aboard, even Bonbon, it’s because they penetrated it. FYI, Purple Acorn and Rain are not the same pony...
And no. There is a story behind that name, but that’s not it. It gets revealed in... What, August? I don’t remember right off.
9016797
Sorry. I'm confusing it with that old Rock song whose name I also forget.
That ship is getting quite dangerous to outsiders. :D
Good.
I was expecting the infiltration attempt a bit earlier, but there it is!