For his hard work to the Crown, the Royal Engineer of Equestria has been honored with a retinue of VIP bodyguards who protect him everywhere he goes. Their ordinary, everyday adventures together wind up being anything but ordinary.
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That was quite the rollercoaster!
I don't agree that the wi
Hhirldwind is a weapon of war, it's just a vehicle, nothing more, it just carry stuff from one place to another very fast, its a carriage, albeit a complex one, the engeneer just so happen to put a unicorn to shoot, the presentation was made for the guards, because they could get more funding, which they will use to improve the technology, so civilians, can benefit, and eventually, to discard military fund g and get private or business ones.
Celestia can create a subjective event horizon? How dramatic.
I wonder who is organising the party in this time line.
Celestia out here playing 4D chess while everyone else is playing checkers.
Will he be able to steel plate it before the games? If so it'll be quite unbeatable.
I did not like this chapter.
Classifying the Whirlwind as a weapon of war and therefore berating Anon for "breaking" his promise is just disingenuous. Damn near every innovation can have applications in the theater of war, and cars' main use is transportation. That's even including its involvement in war itself; what matters more, tanks, or the main method of over-land transportation for logistics, troops, and more? It was presented as a military invention, but it should be clear that it's a transportation invention that affects countless facet of society.
Then there's this substitution into the arena. Not looking forward to the anime-trope arena arc, not one bit.
10713602
I think it's most fair to let TheManFromAnotherTime explain his reasoning on this one, but personally, I think it's fair to say that not all automobiles are weapons of war, but The Whirlwind was modified and marketed as one.
10713607
I 100% understand why it was labeled as a weapon of war, but that's just such a limited view on the invention that I can't help but feel it's a possible failure on Anon's part on hammering home that this is a revolutionary invention. Military applications, sure, but the car's real value lies in its ability to transport goods and items in both a logistical and economic way of thinking. To say that it is nothing less than an economic paradigm shift is to understate it's importance.
10713626
I absolutely understand where you're coming from on this. I was not a fan of this chapter the first time I read it, for much the same reasons, I think.
Oh, wait until he gets metal armor on it...
Monitor and Virginia were armored much the same way, and they did almost no actual damage to each other. With cannon. For hours.
I am WOWed by this story ever time. An unusual occurrence for me. Honestly, give yourself a pat in the back.
10713639
That is to assume that if Anon can get that Foundry of his operational and can get that iron plating for the Whirlwind. As much as Anon doesn't want to have the Whirlwind labelled as war machine, many things have been improved by funding from the military. The airplane is a perfect example of this. At the beginning of WWI airplanes were just fancy kites with engines on them. By the end of WWI they were steel bodied aircraft armed with machine guns flying over 100 mph. Same thing happened in WWII with the creation of jet fighter.
Princesses.
10713628
To be honest, ANYTHING can be used for other purposes, it all comes down to INTENT
10713598
It was once said that she could win at poker with a hand consisting of UNO cards
caled it they where bored
"excuese me celestia, but every last unicorn in equestria is a potential weapon of war but not this unarmed car"
And she goes straight for the kill...
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All Celestia did was make a statement of fact. It's the Royal Engineer who took it hard, and then the Corporal who felt compelled to defend him.
It was important to Anonymous because he'd made a promise; as he says, he felt bad about breaking it even if not quite in spirit. As to why that promise was important to Princess Celestia, it will be explored later in the story.
10713714
While putting the 'Dictator' in 'Benevolent Dictatorship of the Sun'
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10713639
He could also make faux carbon fiber armor for it by just layering paper/parchment and resin/plastic to the desired thickness. Light weight and very durable.
Change the Status Quo Ante Bellum?
A bit of any oxymoron, isn't it? You can't change what's past, unless Starlight Glimmer is getting into unethical magics again.
10713602
I think it was more that they put armour and a spinning turret on it and had a live-fire demonstration against an armed opponent.
10713714
There's more to a conversation than just words, as you have explicitly shown. Perhaps it was just Honor's perspective that tinted the conversation with heavy themes of anger/disappointment, but Celestia's attitude was "room-temperature" at best with Anon, and cold at worst. You can't expect me to believe that she doesn't see the feelings so clearly expressed on his face one second, and call into question whether she engineered the entire exchange the next. It makes her feel like a cold, distant figure of authority, manipulating those around her to get them to the ending 'lessons' she desires. But again, this was only Honor's perspectives and theories.
And then there's Anon's actions. it felt like a forced way of making Anon have this huge moment of fear and regret when in reality someone who had such an in-depth knowledge of economics and industry would have easily known and should have tried to explain that the impact the car has on economics and transportation makes its military applications look like a drop in the bucket.
This could all be explained by Anon simply being afraid and letting emotions cloud his judgement in addition to Celestia seeming disappointed and distant whereas in reality she understood the error in judgement and simply moved on immediately. Maybe she's intentionally showing him no favoritism and not being careful with his feelings since he holds a political position on her highest council. However, with the way it's all presented, it just leaves a sense of unfair treatment. If that was the intent then well done, a good chapter doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will like it, especially with a narrator that is potentially unreliable, such as Honor.
... The more I analyze this, the more convinced I am that Honor really is an unreliable narrator, Anon let his emotions cloud his judgement, and Celestia either manipulated the conversation, or just handled it as quickly and calmly as she wanted to.
As for why she hold the promise in such high regard, that needs no further explanation.
I had, over the course of this story, become worried about how Celestia would be treated by the author. I see now that I had nothing to worry about. What a surpassingly excellent treatment of the characters of both Celestia and Luna.
10713639
Growler has no right to be upset. She may have been allowed participation in the discussion but it was her ego and own inability to keep her mouth shut that kept her from seeing that she was just an unwitting pawn in Celestia's mechanizations to punish of the Royal Engineer for going the weapon route.
This is what I like to see in my Celestia.
You just got to love them Celestial Sisters!
10713757
If Celestia can turn her influence on and off at will, can she also target only one pony out of a group?
Growler is hoist on her own petard, for sure, but... she may have had help getting her britches snagged on the clamp.
Hopefully the good major doesn’t get too upset with Sparky after this.
I still dunno if Anon is affected by the princess presence. It was almost a 3rd person perspective, so maybe what was seen wasn't quite how it was.
10713626
Yeah, he kind of borked it there. Should have demonstrated its carrying capacity. Hitching a cart to the back loaded with stones would have sufficed. And maybe a demonstration of its unladen speed as personal transportation.
10713745
Honour states that Celestia's tone is "nothing less than pleasant" when she makes her statement. That was my way of making it clear that Anon's crumbling reaction has nothing to do with how the Princess of the Sun raises the topic. She does so in the gentlest way possible while still being direct.
As for his crumbling, barring any possible interference from the mysterious Royal "Presence", I remind you that he's been up all night and performing physically-demanding labour the whole time. He is completely exhausted; it should surprise no-one that he might be emotional as a result. After working all night to build the wooden armoured structure of the Whirlwind -- remember, it was just a steam dog-cart 24 hours ago -- he simply doesn't have the energy to defend himself. The next scene goes into this a bit.
10713706
Sorry but if I REALLY built a weapon of war, you'd know it. This was more a way to better utilize the assets you already have.
Now if you would like some mortars placed upon the Hurricane, that could be arranged. Heck, maybe just a simple sniper rifle or fifty?
The chapter has been given a mild formatting edit to remove excessive ellipses and paragraph breaks. The contents are, otherwise, effectively the same.
10713745
I think it's key to remember that Anon is human, and has very human preconceptions of royalty, including the consequences of breaking promises with said royalty. We've seen before in the earlier chapters that Anon is very business-like with the Princesses, extremely careful not to talk beyond what he believes to be his station. He very likely expected a severe punishment for breaking his word, including but not limited to his position -and by extension his work- going up in smoke.
As for the Whirlwind... well, as the saying goes, first impressions matter. It is a military combat tool, presented to an audience consisting of primarily military ponies. Does the underlying technology have significant other applications? Absolutely, but given the presentation and the target audience, those other applications were marketed as side benefits, with the military applications being the main goal of the Whirlwind. It's a failure of marketing on Anon's part, and he is going to have to work to present his steam engine's more general applications in a different fashion now. Hardly impossible (just look how many initially military devices worked their way down to widespread civilian use) but it will take some additional effort.
Actually, that might help explain why Anon made the mistake too: Anon might have been operating from a human mindset, where a military contract is an excellent way to get both the finances and a foot in the door to connections to mass-produce your ideas.
10713840
It was an error in marketing in some respects, but at the same time, Anonymous did it for his guards -- for Lily, in particular.
10713833
A war chariot is still defined as a weapon of war. It may not have much offensive capabilities as a sword or spear but its purpose still is clear as meant for the battlefield.
The Quat and the Engi-
img.ifunny.co/images/d7bfa9abf55b53058fe02cfcb99e65cfac59775b56a799f9ba40d841e292445e_1.jpg
Celestia: Promise not to make a weapon of war.
Anon: ups... i forgot and did it, I’m so sorr...
Celestia: Sssh... It’s okay, please, continue.
I mean.... what!? I was expecting her to order him to stop and turn the car back to normal tramsport.
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The hell I will not!
10713840
To be fair, she did try to assault his mind as a consequence, if it's true that she has control of her LSD aura.
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Steel. Not Iron.
Does... does Celestia not realise that everything can be used in a military capacity?
Does she not know that every discovery can be used to augment a nation or culture's fighting capability?
I understand her desire to not give Anon full reign to aspire to create full-auto rifles or bombs, but, like, even if he hadn't put a Unicorn gunner into the back of his dog-and-pony cart, what does she think it would be used for in the Guard anyways? Every single one of Anon's creations, from the Whirlwind to high-tensile steel, is gonna be used to leapfrog the Guard into the next century of warfare, whether she wants it or not.
Wow Celestia is... I hate the constant smiling and the psychic assault.
"it's only been 2 years". Going by Celestia's logic, they should just wait DECADES til all affected parties have passed away before trying to do anything.
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That probably is her logic. Thousand year old immortal, remember?
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A lot of military beginning/started projects are now civilian used or got 'demilitarized' and are relatively common things.
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Just like the cellphone, laptop, and computer!
10714013
True, but I doubt that's the consequence Anon was expecting.
10714280
Yeah, that's what I said.
10714093
She does, but there's a difference between designing a tool that can be used in war, and designing a tool for the specific purpose of war. The steamcar alone is a tool nearly limitless in purpose, to the point you can't even pick one and say "that's what it was made to do!" But the Whirlwind's main purpose is war, no ways around it.
I dunno why a lot of people are hating on Celestia for calling the Whirlwind a weapon of war. Even if what's underneath is just a horseless carriage, he outfitted it with armor and a swiveling turret-seat, and the spectacle of his demonstration was largely combat.
The automobile is a creation of utility and societal progress; the Whirlwind is a weapon of war.