I didn’t get back to the tower until well after dark. Which was nice. What was less nice was going back inside and into our brightly lit quarters.
While the night vision was nice, going from dark to bright was less than nice.
Ignoring it, I crossed the room and gave Luna's wing a small nuzzle at where she was sitting by her desk, “Hey.”
She smiled and looked away from her papers, “Hey… did you enjoy the reception?”
“Ughhhhh…” I answered and leaned against her, “If I ever get such a brilliant idea again, tie me to the bed.”
“That sounds fun…” Luna mused.
I glanced up at her and shifted my wings, “...Keep that thought for later,” I told her and pulled back before I stretched again with a groan, “Something strange happened though.”
“Which sort of strange thing?” Luna asked, putting her current paper down to look at me again with a curious look.
“Chrysalis showed up. She brought Skitter along,” I said and slipped my cloak off, starting to remove my uniform, “They are both invited every time, but Chrysalis had never showed up before.”
Luna frowned and looked down at her desk for a moment before she looked to me again, “What do you think she is plotting?”
I folded the jacket and shook my head, “I’m… unsure. I think it might just be Chrysalis being Chrysalis, I think it has something to do with the other hives, but I don’t follow her logic at the moment.”
Not that it meant much, Chrysalis was squirrelly at the best of times and what more, she was a changeling, she didn’t really think like a pony.
What more, she was smart. Very, very smart. Smarter than me.
Luna nodded and jumped off her chair, “The other hives…” she said thoughtfully as she moved over to pour a pair of glasses of warm cider, “You have located all of them?”
I nodded, “Mostly,” I said and sighed, “But the next step is going to be tricky and is going to need Chrysalis to buy into the entire idea. And who knows how that’ll work out,” I admitted and took the glass in my magic when she offered it before taking a sip.
Oh, Luna, that’s good.
“You do know the Changelings better than anypony else, you understand them,” Luna admitted and sipped her own Cider and moved to jump onto the couch.
I moved to join her, jumping up to lay down next to her, leaning against her side with a small sigh, “As much anypony can,” I admitted and then sipped my cider, “I’ll talk to Skitter tomorrow, see what she knows. How was your day so far?”
Luna sighed softly, “Consisting mostly of paperwork,” she answered and rested her head against the top of mine, “...I think it may be multiplying.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised if it was,” I admitted and sighed, “I miss computers. Would make things so much easier.”
“I remember you telling me of those. Would they really make things simpler?”
“...Yes and no,” I admitted, “Moving all of this stuff digital? Would be an absolute nightmare and need the entire process rebuilt. And then everything to support that…” before I sighed, “...So yes, when everything was done, it really would. But that would be a process twenty years old and that’s after a hundred years of industrialization to support it unless we want to import everything through the mirror.”
And knowing what that process did to the human world, I wanted to bring that to Equestria about as much as I wanted a hole in the head. The majority of the pros already existed from magic and I bet we could get the rest with time. A sample would likely be enough to get Sparks wanting to build her own anyway.
“Barely seems worth it,” Luna said and slipped her wing over my back, pulling me closer.
“Well, there are pros,” I said and then rolled onto my back, looking up at her with a smile, “I do kind of miss late night gaming. I remember going to lan parties when I was younger.”
“‘Lan’ parties?” Luna asked, raising her eyebrows, “What is that?”
“Imagine a bunch of caffeinated teenagers staying up for three days, leading simulated armies, blowing each other up in a virtual world and just plain eating enough greasy food to feed a small equestrian army.”
Luna looked amused, one eyebrow stayed raised, “...Really? And that’s fun?”
“Was amazing fun,” I told her with a grin, “Kind of grew out of it after a bit,” I admitted before I frowned, “...Or maybe technology moved on. Before I ended up here, well, the internet was fast enough that you could play the same way while staying at home.”
Luna nodded, “The communication network you talked about?”
“Yeah. I miss the internet,” I sighed and ran my hoof along her wing, stroking her feathers, “It was just so convenient, so much fun. Imagine having any book you’d ever want, anytime you want, instantly.”
“That sounds c-convenient,” Luna said and I could feel her tremble softly as I teased her feathers.
I smirked at that, “I’ll show you whenever the mirror opens next,” I said and nuzzled in to nip softly along the side of her neck.
“P-page…”
I pulled back and stretched a bit, looking up at her with a smirk, “Yeah, you’re right, I should let you get back to your paperwo-eep!”
It would certainly explain why it never ends
He got a nice little, eep!, in there.
Thanks for the interesting chapter! I look forward to updating!
I think Page would shit himself from learning what new things we have, like Boston Dynamics' robot dog and VR , especially VR Chat
Unfornutally The Mirror dimension is just a parody of our own world,which only requirements it has to exist are highschools, ponies in place of humans with their pony personalities, so there isn't much progress and if there is any it's very slow
Like Equestria itself , ponies just don't have the drive to advance and upgrade
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"PAGE LOOK WHAT I GOT!"
*bright yellow robot dog stomps up and grabs a scroll with its manipulator arm*
"Oh luna no ...!"
10357481
So he gets a robot dog and tree dog XD
He will probably get it upgraded by Mirror version of Michael Reeves too https://youtu.be/x5fKCrG21gU
What's next SCP-1471?
I don't think computers actually save us any time when it comes to paperwork. They might make it easier to do the paperwork, but they also make it easier to create it. A company wouldn't update its EULA every month if it meant they had to print and snail mail a million physical copies.
Snu snu is best entertainment . Really hope for diabolic cute foals for them
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Paper or paperless, they both can be made to take an absurd amount of time.
MEANWHILE...
Princess Skitter: Sigh...mother please stop. Eating that much of love in one sitting is not healthy.
Queen Chrysalis: *eating love out of a ice cream carton* I DON'T CARE! Sniff...sniff...this is what I get for following the advice of a Crystal Junkie Food Princess! I was acting like a good ally should like Page wanted out of me b-b-ut he didn't praise my efforts at all!!
Princess Skitter: Well I noticed it~! The rest of the hive noticed it~!
Queen Chrysalis: IT IS NOT THE SAME! *nom nom nom*
I know that “eep”! Ears were bitten.
I wonder, how will Hiver take canon abdication of Celly and Luna for Twilight in this saga. Existance of Blank Page remove possibility of doing this in canon version, as it is no longer just about them (as royal alicorn) and Page is capable of providing them heirs from their own blood in future. Will it be simply ignored here or Celly developed some alternation of her original plan?
10357607
Yeah, I heard about that. They never explained how they'd overcome Cutie Mark Derangement Syndrome. I could see them giving up being rulers, but never their Sun and Moon.
10357533
Is this the ongoing story happening off-screen in the comments? I keep seeing these.
Do continue.
10357741
...It kinda developed that way. If I recall, it started during "Duties" when I joke that Cadance was behind the scenes demanding Page and Sunset Shimmer to get together and...I just ran with it~!
Imagine Twilight with unlimited access to the internet?
Good chapter
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THE HORROR - THE HORROR
Your insane Whats next? Pinkie Pie on coffee
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Pinkie the Food Pinky on unlimited coffee, Twinkle Butt with the internet and... OH! Shutterfly's stoner friend given pure Tibetan bud in a camberwell carrot.
10359272
even worse...... Espresso
10359272
Pinkie does already have 'Soggoths milk'
In all fairness though, introducing Twilight to transistors and logic chips would brighten up her days a little, probably. It would also be something fun they could do together. On the low level, designing basic boards is pretty gratifying... and I'm sure Twi would want to build her own tech from the ground up anyway. They could probably figure out ways to build up to all of it - they have centuries ahead of them, and humanity didn't start out with integrated circuits after all...
Did y'all know that the first "personal computers" you could get your hands on were DIY machines? They were little more than data movers, really, with switches and LEDs to indicate raw bits - but I think a puzzle like this would be very entertaining for Twilight, even as a hobby. And the best part is: she would already know that it's possible to do it. She could tinker and dabble for the rest of her eternity, to be honest.
Seriously, designing and building simple logical circuits is relaxing. And it would have the additional benefit of paying some respect to Page's chosen career path - something I'm sure he'd appreciate. It would also be something he'd know more about than her, and something he could teach. It would also be an interesting challenge, to get this done and working without magic (well, as much as possible, with the exception of using magic to ensure no environmental pollution would result).
I think it would be enjoyable to see the teacher/student dynamic reversed for a change, and I personally would find it adorable and heartwarming. I've yet to find a story that properly explores a human character slice-of-life'ing computer or electronics knowledge to ponies - like teaching them to solder, for example.
Have some pictures:
i.ytimg.com/vi/2ha-_T3KgbA/maxresdefault.jpg
i.pinimg.com/originals/0f/e9/cd/0fe9cd84a42719215ed0950fab5e87b9.jpg
i.ytimg.com/vi/xISG4nGTQYE/hqdefault.jpg
I always wondered is Page a misanthrope going by the way he talks about humanity and our tech
11068109
Yeah plus they used to be huge enough to fill a room. But they do speed things up a bit and make getting information faster even talking to someone face to face when you are miles apart.
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?: Cadence id getting out of hoof! We need to sabotage it before it escalates… Agent!
Agent: Yes?
?: Get the Crusaders! We’re sending them on a shipping crusade… that should set her back by a couple of years…“
Agent: That’s a warcrime sir!
?: We have no choice! Send them!
Note: No hate btw, I enjoy your little „sidestory“…
10357547
Or necks are nipped on.
10357607
Canon end was hollowed out bullshit, this storyline is already a lot better.
10357741
We love to fill out blanks or make something entertaining up.
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On going ever since ~♡
10361071
Bad dreams on steroids are on the way...
10395738
!!!
10459197
Wasn't that another story?
11068109
Damn, the Equestrian technical evolution could be in hoove reach
11378071
Military and economy will boom that way in efficiency.
11605140
This could actually work ...
👍
No one told Page Equestria has arcades?
What kind of crazy person would read books on the internet? The internet was made for funny cat videos!
Or mashups between unrelated things!