Chapter XXXIII – The Witch Talon
The meeting in Derpy's workshop was turning out be a surprisingly tense affair. Sunset and I arrived to find the normally congenial engineer verbally laying into a beleaguered looking Doctor Whooves. The two of them stood over by one of the work desks in the much too cramped laboratory.
Neither Sunset or I caught anything from outside the workshop due to it being soundproof, so I was thrown for a loop for a moment. Sunset, for her part, looked as if she'd already known what we were about to walk into. As we made our way toward the pair, I was able to pick up the tailend of a point Derpy was trying to make.
“...a few more safety measures, but no! Nopony thought to bring it up with the engineer! Nopony ever thinks to consult the ones giving our civilization a fighting chance! Nope, we're alway the last to know! And then what happens?
“Orders come last minute, work gets delayed, the Avidaeos attack and ponies die because we couldn't get them properly geared up in time! Do you know how frustrating that is? Do you know how much that hurts? Of course you don't! All you science types just—”
The wall-eyed pegasus paused to take a calming breath, then crossed her arms and glared at the Doctor. I wanted to point out that engineering was itself was just applied science, but I wisely chose to keep my mouth shut. I understood what she was trying to get at.
After a second, Derpy continued in a tone that was quieter but no less frustrated than before. “Look, as long as I have the materials, I can rig up a working Daeus Arm from scratch in a week no problem, but this...?” She sighed and shook her head helplessly. “One week wasn't enough. Even with all the info I got from the guys back in Canterlot, this was the best I could do on such short notice. I'm good, but I'm not that good.”
“Oh come on, Derpy,” Sunset called as she verbally and physically moved to insert herself into the discussion. She stopped next to the pegasus and slapped a hand onto her shoulder, giving the mare a knowing smirk, “we all know you're the best Daeus Arms engineer in Equestria—probably the world at this point.”
“I doubt that, but it's always nice to know my skills are appreciated,” Derpy replied, her sour expression turning to something tired but far more friendly as she gently removed Sunset's hand. She acknowledged me with an apologetic smile and nod before addressing us both. “Sorry you two had to hear that. It's just... been a long week.”
The weary engineer punctuated her last statement with a pointed glare in the Doctor's direction. Doctor Whooves just sighed in respose before turning to give me his own apologetic shrug. “You have my apologies as well,” he said, “I'm afraid this little, ah... altercation is my fault. Got a bit too eager and... let my expectations get away from me.” He cast Derpy a side glance, a somewhat guilty grimace on his face, “er... sorry, about that, Muffins.”
“...Nah, don't worry about it,” Derpy finally sighed after a tense moment, “I know how you get, and it's not like it's your fault I didn't have time to prepare something better.” She scrunched up her face in displeasure, “It's the ones at the top who never think about how much time and effort it takes to do what we do. Just gets under my skin sometimes is all.”
“Um...” I began, looking between the Doctor and the engineer. I felt it was finally safe enough for me to butt in, so I spoke up. “I'm, uh... assuming all of that had something to do with whatever it was you brought me here for?”
“You assumed right, Miss Sparkle,” Derpy replied in a light tone that quickly turned to one of concern as she gave me another look, “before all that though, how are you feeling? Everything shake out okay?”
“Yeah, I'm fine now,” I replied with my own look of concern, “the Doctor and Nurse Red Heart got me fixed up. How about you? Doctor Whooves told me you were fine but...”
“Oh, you don't need to worry about me,” Derpy replied, laughing off my worries, “Cheerilee, Whooves, and I all came out no worse for wear. I was just worried you might've magically crippled yourself after your little lightshow back in the training room.”
“No, that, uh... that didn't happen,” I allowed myself a wry smile despite my embarassment and slight shame at having done something so stupid. “Kind of the opposite actually.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Derpy snorted. Hands on her hips, the pegasus eyed me up and down with a strange mix of amusement and annoyance, “because of that stunt you pulled, I had to make some insane modifications to the Daeus Arm core you were supposed to use originally, and I only had about a week to do it. A week.”
“That's... insane,” I muttered in disbelief, “and you managed to pull it off?”
“Just barely,” Derpy griped, “I only got access to the data on your weird new bias factor a little over a week ago and had to base a brand new design entirely around it.” She shook her head, clearly aggravated by the less than ideal circumstances she found herself in.
“If I had more time I would've just built a whole new core from the ground up,” the engineer sighed wistfully. “Yeah, it would've taken longer, but it would've also been both a lot safer and a lot easier. As things stand though, we'll have to go with what I could throw together.”
“But why is that?” I asked, somewhat confused by the urgency. I gave Doctor Whooves a questioning look, “Why rush the process? If Derpy wasn't as good as she is, something like this probably would've taken weeks, if not months for a whole team of engineers to complete, let alone one. Why does it need to be done now?”
I had some general knowledge about Daeus Arms, but knew very little about how they were built. My brief stint in the Daeus Arms R&D department back in Canterlot hadn't given me any insights either. That said, I was aware that what Derpy could accomplish was far outside the realm of what should've been possible on her own. Listening to her explain the situation she was in just cemented my opinion that Sunset was right.
No matter how she herself denied the claim, it was clear to me that Derpy Hooves likely was the best Daeus Arms engineer in Equestria, if not the entire world. I felt bad for it, but I couldn't help thinking her talent was wasted in a place like Ponyville. I would've even gone so far as to say her talents were wasted in Equestria.
While our country may have initially led the charge in Daeus Arm technology, the dragons had long since overtaken pony engineers when it came to sheer skill. Daeus Arms made in the Dragonlands were said to be the most powerful of any nation. I, and probably most of the ponies here, believed Derpy had more than enough skill to match and even surpass any engineer in the Dragonlands.
Given how impossibly fast the mare could work, I could understand her having stricter deadlines than most, but a week? I had to agree with Derpy on this one. That was far too short a timeline to get any proper work done on a Daeus Arm, no matter how skilled you were. In response to my questions, the Doctor could only give me a helpless shrug.
“Orders from up top, I'm afraid,” he replied with a bitter smile, “now that we've shed some light on what your bias factor might be capable of, the big wigs over at HQ want a Daeus Arm in your hands and you out in the field as soon as possible. I admit, I... was also a bit eager to get things moving along.” His bitter smile fell into a frown, “But Miss Muffins is right, this situation isn't exactly ideal.”
“So the execs are looking for a field test and they want it done now,” Sunset chimed in. She sat on the notion for a second, then gave a casual shrug and looked over to me, “can't really blame them honestly.”
“To be honest, I can't either,” I admitted reluctantly, “but even then, I still don't see why they have to push ahead so recklessly. Haste makes waste and all that, right? We both heard Derpy mention something about safety issues.”
I didn't say it out loud, but I really didn't feel good about wielding a potentially unstable Daeus Arm. If Derpy really was as good at her job as I suspected she was, then I had little to worry about. At the same time though, I'd never seen her work, nor had I used one of her creations before. I expected quality, but given the circumstances, I couldn't be sure I'd get it.
“Yeah, we get that, but the top brass aren't thinking about the matter the way we are,” Sunset replied seriously, “It's like this: Even though we pretty much developed all the tech keeping the Avidaeos at bay, us ponies have fallen way behind the other races over the years in terms of just about everything.”
Sunset wasn't wrong about that, no matter how much I wished she was. Ponies were the pioneers of anti-Avidaeos technology, but for whatever reason we'd hit that proverbial wall. Our research had stagnated after the first Daeus Arms were developed.
Once we spread the knowledge to the other surviving races around the world, we found out too late that the majority of them had some unexpected advantages over us ponies. Equestria had been a massive hegemony during the Age of War and the Age of Peace, but here in the Age of Ruin, both the changelings and the dragons now vied for the most powerful nation.
The changelings had far and away the most Daeus Hunters to throw at the Avidaeos thanks to their perfect Daeification compatibility. If that weren't enough, the unified consciousness unique to their race allowed them to coordinate and communicate on a level no other race could match.
They'd also had the ability to shapeshift at one point by consuming the positive emotions of other creatures. It was frightening to think about, but thankfully, that ability had supposedly been magically sealed across the entire race as part of the treaty that had ended the Age of War.
Being the emotivores that they were, I wasn't sure how they were managing their food situation, but they'd clearly found a solution of some kind. They were probably the only nation that could be considered truly thriving in this Avidaeos ridden wasteland. Ultimately, it was the changelings that were effectively leading the charge against the monsters plaguing our world.
Ironic given they'd once been the most reviled race in each and every other nation. Oh, how the tables turn. I'd have laughed if it wasn't all so sad.
And then there were the dragons with their physical might and abundance of high quality resources. They were the the most lacking in population, but they more than made up for that in the sheer power of their Daeus Arms, strongholds, and Hunters. Between the Badlands' numbers and the Dragonlands' power, Equestria just couldn't compare. Not anymore.
From the strength of our Daeus Hunters to the quality of our resources and equipment, we could no longer keep up. The griffons, minotaurs, and kirins weren't as powerful as the changelings or dragons, but they all had their own unique strengths too. It was only in the last two decades or so that we finally managed to make a few new innovations.
Not when we have to sacrifice pretty much everything that makes us ponies just for a fighting chance. I've never really thought much about it, but compared to the other races, we really got a raw deal here...
“If your bias factor could somehow be replicated, we might finally have a chance to catch up with the other nations.” Sunset continued as if in response to my despressing thoughts. “They don't want to waste this opportunity because they already know the research needed to duplicate your bias factor will take time. The sooner we get started, the better.”
“Could they even do that? Replicate Twilight's bias factor, I mean,” Derpy asked, casting a worried look my way, “and even if they could, what would happen to her in the process?”
“I'd very much like to know that myself,” I added, mirroring the other mare's expression.
I wasn't entirely familiar with how such a process would work or if was even possible. This was more Sunset's territory than mine, so I turned to ask her. Before I could ask though, Doctor Whooves interjected with his own answer instead.
“It has been done before, yes, though very rarely,” he explained with a somewhat conflicted frown, “the process is incredibly lengthy and invasive—horribly dangerous too without a comprehensive understanding of how the bias factor in question functions and what it's capable of.”
At my horrified expression the Doctor raised his hands placatingly. “Th-that said, the procedure does require the full consent of the, ah... patient—”
“Test subject,” Sunset corrected with a grim smile.
“Patient,” Doctor Whooves repeated with an unamused scowl, “we're scientists, Miss Shimmer, not barbarians. While it is true that things were done... differently once upon a time, the President herself has since put laws into place to protect the patient and their interests.”
“Except where the conscription clause is concerned,” I pointed out somewhat bitterly, “I can't think of a more invasive process than Daeification, and I had no choice in taking part in that.”
“Yes, well,” the Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly, “unfortunately, there's always exceptions. The laws where Daeus Hunters and Daeification are concerned were based upon the military centric mandates of old. Considering we're essentially in a constant state of war, such military drafts are unavoidable.”
“I suppose so,” I replied after a moment. I wasn't fully convinced, but I decided to move on, “but getting back to that bias factor replication procedure. Are you sure they'd just let me choose? I know full well what my abilities could mean for Equestria. Would they seriously just let that go if I decided not to go through with it?”
“They'd have to,” Sunset answered with another shrug, “the President is really strict about laws like that. Oh, they'll try to do everything they can to get you to agree. Some of the more unscrupulous types up top might try to threaten you. Some might try to bribe you. Some might try to guilt you into the procedure, but in the end, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to.”
“Would the President allow them to do all of that?” I asked skeptically.
“Not if she or the Commander-in-Chief found out,” Sunset replied with a wicked smile, “but the thing is, if you're careful and determined enough, you can get around Celestia's authority without her being any the wiser.”
“That's... disconcerting,” I replied with a disturbed grimace.
“That's politics in the workplace,” Sunset shrugged, “not too different from the government variety if you ask me.”
“Twilight, I know you're worried about what Wendigo has planned for you,” Derpy said, cutting into the conversation, “I'm not too sure about what to think either if I'm being honest, but we're not gonna get anywhere hemming and hawing about it here.” She gestured to the door that led to her little Daeus Arm sanctuary, “For now, I think it's time we took a look at what this humble engineer has planned for you instead.”
For a moment, Sunset, Doctor Whooves and I all looked at each other. I personally wanted to discuss things a bit more, given that I was more or less at the center of this whole thing. I was the one this all affected the most for better or worse. That said, Derpy was right. We weren't accomplishing anything other than to pile more worries and reservations on top of the ones I already had.
Doctor Whooves must've seen something in my expression but he finally turned to address Derpy. “I think that would be a splendid idea,” he agreed heartily, “even if Miss Sparkle agrees to go through with the procedure, she wouldn't be approached on the matter for quite some time. After all, there's still much to learn about her bias factor and there's also her lack of experience as a Daeus Hunter to consider.”
“Exactly,” Derpy nodded before making her way to the strange display room I still didn't know the name of, “so let's stop the worrying and get this show on the road already. I got a lot to show you and I'm a busy mare.”
“Fair enough,” Sunset added. To my surprise, the other researcher turned to head in the opposite direction towards the workshop entrance. “I'll be in the lab if you need me. I'm gonna look over the info we got from Red Heart one more time.”
“You're not coming with?” I asked curiously.
“Why would I?” Sunset shot back, giving me a bemused and annoyed frown over her shoulder, “All I was told to do was bring you here. My job's done and I got better things to do, so I'm out.” With that, the door to the workshop slid open and she slipped out with one last lazy wave behind her, “See ya, Sparky. Be a good girl and do what the engineer says, okay?”
I grumbled a bit at her parting words, but ultimately chose to ignore them. Instead, I followed Derpy and Doctor Whooves into the display room. I asked Derpy about it as we entered and found out that this was partly a display room, but mostly just a sort of secure storage for the more interesting projects she was currently working on.
The first thing I noticed was the absence of the mysterious coffin-like containers I'd seen last time I was here. Derpy, who'd apparently taken note of my curiosity, told me that those projects were more or less complete and had been sent off to Canterlot for a final review and potential approval. That essentially meant we might be getting new types of Daeus Arms in circulation soon.
I surprised myself at how interested I actually was at the news, but Derpy quickly drew me back to the matter at hand. She led me and the Doctor over to another coffin-like metal container, this one presumably holding my new 'New-Type' Daeus Arm. I almost complained that I hadn't gotten a say in the type of weapon I would wield, but then I remembered back to about two weeks ago, just after I'd been given a clean bill of health by Nurse Red Heart.
I'd been checking my emails and remembered getting an email from Derpy herself. She'd brought up my training and had actually asked me about my preferences regarding Daeus Arms. I'd given it a lot of thought at the time and wound up going with the variant scythe as my close range weapon in the end. I still recalled how much the weapon seemed to click with me when I'd used it.
I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted in regards to a shield type. From what I discovered during my disastrous training session, there were three different types of shields. You had your bucklers, which were the smallest model. Then there were the standard mid-sized shields, and finally the bulky tower shields.
I also gave this some thought as well and chose to go with the buckler. Having used the scythe, it felt like something that required a lot of agility and dexterity so I chose to keep my load light. I didn't really have a preference for the design so I left that up to Derpy.
I had also asked Derpy about the arcane staff as a long range option. I had my suspicions, but I wasn't actually sure if the weapon was supposed to be lumped in with the other long range Daeus Arms or not. According to Derpy's reply, the arcane staff was kind of somewhere in the middle, as the head of the staff could be used as a blunt melee weapon in a pinch.
She told me that if I wanted to use both the variant scythe and the arcane staff though, she'd make it work somehow. I didn't want to inconvenience the mare with a complicated request and told her as much, but I never got a response back from her. In the end, I'd totally forgotten about the email until now.
Now though, it all came flooding back to me and I found myself curious about what the pegasus had done. As we stood there in front of the sealed container, I couldn't help but express my concerns about Derpy pushing herself, not just with modifying a unique core, but a unique Daeus Arm to boot. Her response was to wave away my worries.
“Don't worry about it,” she said, “I had more time to work on the Daeus Arm itself and frankly, it was a lot easier than modifying the core I put in there.” She gave me a giddy smile, “And besides, I actually had a lot of fun making this one, so yeah... not a problem in the slightest.”
The Doctor, for his part, watched the proceedings from a distance. Evidently, his role was to simply observe, ask questions, and document the results of my synchronization with the unique core. I wondered aloud if maybe there shouldn't have been another Daeus Hunter nearby in case something went wrong, but Derpy assured me it wouldn't be necessary.
“Alrighty then...” Derpy began, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. A wide grin split her face as she moved around to the right side of the container where a keypad I hadn't noticed before was embedded right into the metal. After she hit several keys there was a loud beep followed by a long hiss.
The lid split down the middle as it rose forward and both sides slowly flipped open to reveal my new Daeus Arm resting within the massive metal container. I wasn't sure what to expect, but even at a glance, the design somehow made sense to me. Having already seen an arcance staff, I could tell right away that the magical weapon was the basis for this Daeus Arm.
Rather than the curved snath of a farmer's scythe, the length of the scythe was straight like a charge spear. The grip along most of the shaft's length was a deep black shade with a matte finish. Further up the length near the blade, I could see a glossy indigo buckler with a strikingly pink outer edge. Its design was simple yet stylish and its contrasting tones were suspiciously familiar.
The small shield was separated into two halves on either side of the shaft and connected by a series of thick, spring-loaded metal hinges. From what I understood, the mechanism that controlled the Daeus Arm's shapeshifting capabilities would allow the shield to snap into place at the center of the shaft as one whole when needed.
That same mechanism housed within it the devour module used to shift the Daeus Arm into its predator form. It would also normally allow a New-Type to swap the blade of a melee Arm for the barrel of a ranged Arm. My Daeus Arm was a bit different in that last regard. In my case, the massive blade of the scythe stretched out on one end, while the head of what would narmally be the arcane staff served as the counterweight on the other side of the shaft.
The full ring I'd seen on the practice staff had been reduced to a half ring made from the same metal as the blade. All five magic orbs were present, though a touch smaller to compensate for the reduced space on the half ring. The large black orb was still there in the middle incased in the same metal and not at all reduced in size. It took up the bulk of the role as a counterweight to the blade.
The metal that made up the scythe's blade shone a deep indigo color that seemed to absorb the light around it. The dark purplish-blue tone faded into a vibrant shade of pink along the blade's reversed edge. I was shocked to see that it was a perfect match for my mane, but then I thought back to my brother and how his long blade was designed around his mane as well.
Maybe it's normal? I don't know, but I'm not complaining.
The blade itself was thick at the base and gradually tapered off into a slight hook at the tip. With the way it curved, the length of the blade was oddly reminiscent of a griffon's talon. I'd always scoffed at how ludicrous and nonsensical Daeus Arms were, and I still held those opinions on the oversized weapons to some extent.
Even with those opinions though, I was able to find a surprisingly large amount of appreciation within me for what Derpy had created. For as fast the mare worked, I could tell she put a lot of care and attention into the design and it showed. The weapon truly was a work of art.
While I was admiring the Daeus Arm and lost in my own thoughts, Derpy took that moment to make her way back over to my side. With a ridiculous flourish and a brilliant smile, the cockeyed engineer gestured to her creation.
“Pretty neat, huh?” she boasted with no small amount of pride. The mare was practically glowing with excitement as she waved a hand toward the weapon, “Twilight Sparkle, I present to you, your new Daeus Arm. I call it... the Witch Talon!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.052 seconds
Total duration
1,047 users online
1,778,776 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
What's the cover art of?
11523184
The Hannibal Aragami from God Eater.
11523200
Thanks. I thought it was like the titan shifter from aot
Keep telling yourself that, doc.
#Topicalhumourftw
Have I ever said that a lot of stories portray Sunset as kind of a bitch?
Ooh. Nice moniker.